Egon Schiele on His Deathbed, 1918

On 21st October 1918, Egon Schiele died only a few days after contracting the Spanish Flu, and three days after the passing of his wife Edith Schiele, who was six months pregnant at the time. The 24-year-old photographer Martha Fein (1894–1942), who kept a photographic studio in Vienna’s 13th district, took two photographs of the artist, who had died at his parents-in-law’s apartment at Hietzinger Hauptstraße 114 (cf. Egon Schiele on His Deathbed). Slightly emaciated and with short hair, and with a peaceful and relaxed expression, the deceased is lying on his deathbed decorated with a few flowers. His left, angled arm is resting on the headrest made up of stacked cushions, his hand placed under his head; his right hand resting underneath his chin. It seems as though Schiele was merely sleeping. Just as the War was finally ending, and he was celebrating his first major success and was starting a family, Schiele’s life was cut short. His colleagues, collectors, patrons and friends were deeply shocked by the artist’s sudden passing.

KJ, 2023