At the studio of Hans Ungar (1880–1942 deported to Izbica) in Neulengbach, the 22-year-old Egon Schiele (1890–1918) posed twice for photographs, each time with one of his paintings: in the present photograph with his work
Autumn Sun and a second time with
Autumn Tree in Stirred Air. Both works were created in 1912 in Neulengbach, where the artist had been living since August 1911. The two canvases featured in the spring exhibition of the artists’ association Hagenbund in Vienna, which was shown from March to April 1912 at the Zedlitzhalle. The same year, they found high-profile first owners: The co-founder of the Wiener Werkstätte, Fritz Waerndorfer (1868–1939), bought
Autumn Sun, while the artist and collector Magda Mautner von Markhof (1881–1944) acquired
Autumn Tree in Stirred Air in an effort to have a “complete representation of young Viennese art” in her collection. Mautner von Markhof, who was also portrayed by Klimt, attended the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts, and studied painting in Paris with Maurice Denis (1870–1943). She married Alois Grasmayr (1876–1955) in 1913 and moved to Salzburg.
KJ, 2024
