Marie Schiele, née Soukup, untitled

Marie Schiele (1862–1935), née Soukup, gave birth to her first and only son, Egon Schiele (1890–1918), on 12th June 1890. Though Marie supported her son in his artistic ambitions, and also advocated for him studying at the Vienna Academy, their relationship was not an easy one. She often struggled to understand him, and Egon repeatedly complained about his mother’s lovelessness. Their relationship was likely the reason why Schiele frequently addressed the theme of mother and child in his works. In paintings including Dead Mother I and Blind Mother, Schiele created nightmarish depictions of motherhood, which afford intimate insights into his emotional world.

LVD, 2024