Adolf Schiele and Marie Schiele, née Soukup, undated

This portrait of Adolf (1851–1905) and his wife Marie Schiele (1862–1935) was taken by the noted court photographer, specializing in portrait photographs, Fritz Luckhardt (1843–1894). It shows the married couple within an opulent, richly decorated room, one that was much in keeping with the tastes of the fin-de-siècle: Marie is sitting on a chair, her arm resting on a small table next to her, with Adolf standing to her right, his left hand on the backrest of the chair. Adolf, who was twelve years his wife’s senior, had fallen in love with Marie already at the beginning of his career, but had to wait five years before they were able to get married. The couple wed on 17th June 1897, when Marie was only 17 years old; the photograph was likely taken that year. Their marriage was not to be an easy one: Along with the death of their first daughter at the age of ten, the young family was greatly burdened by Adolf’s syphilis diagnosis and the gradual deterioration of his health.

LVD, 2024