Chrysanthemums, 1910

According to the notes kept by his most important mentor Arthur Roessler (1877–1955), Egon Schiele (1890–1918) met Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) already in 1907. A generation older than Schiele, Klimt would become his fatherly friend and promoter whose artistic influence on the still searching Schiele cannot be overestimated. Contemporary observers already commented on this proximity with appellations such as “Silver Klimt” and “faithful paladin”. The flower painting Chrysanthemums reveals influences of Viennese Jugendstil especially in terms of the choice of the depiction’s format due to the rampant Japonism, which was highly popular at the time, and the decorative staging of the subject. By depicting chrysanthemums, however, Schiele openly emphasized the reference to East Asian art and artisan craftwork. The tension-filled contrast between the delicate weave of flowers and the flat black of the background illustrates the type of pictorial-dramaturgical means that suited Schiele’s Expressionist manner of painting.

VG, 2021