Egon Schiele in Front of the Display Case in His Studio in Hietzing, 1915

This photograph by the artist Johannes Fischer (1888–1955), which shows his colleague Egon Schiele (1890–1918) at the latter’s studio on Vienna’s Hietzinger Hauptstraße in front of a tightly packed display case, has been published in many reference books. Researchers have focused on the discernible objects – books, various figures, children’s toys, textiles, a fan and a British flag. Many objects have been identified and some of them are still preserved today, such as the Toy Horse from Schiele’s Folk Art Collection. Most of these objects are privately owned or form part of the collection of the Wien Museum. They illustrate Schiele’s personal interests and other influences on his work. The artist was an avid collector and surrounded himself with a great variety of artifacts which he sometimes also brought along on his travels and excursions.

KJ, 2023