Egon Schiele and the Art of Popular Illustration

300 Pages·2022·21.967 MB·English

by  Claude Cernuschi

Egon Schiele and the Art of Popular
Illustration
Presenting a radically different picture of Egon Schiele's work, this study documents
(in one-to-one comparisons) the extent of the artist's visual borrowings from the
Viennese humoristic journal, Die Muskete.
Claude Cernuschi analyzes each comparison on a case-by-case basis, primarily
because the interpretation of cartoons and caricatures is highly contingent on their
specific historical and cultural context. Although this connection has gone unno-
ticed in the literature, in retrospect, this correlation makes perfect sense. Not only
was Schiele's artistic production frequently compared to caricature (and derided for
being “grotesque”), but Expressionism and caricature are natural allies. One may
belong to “high” art and the other to “popular” culture, yet both presuppose similar
assumptions and deploy a similar rhetorical position: namely, that the exaggeration
of human physiognomy allows deeper psychological “truths” to emerge.
The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, visual culture, pop-
ular culture, and politics.
Claude Cernuschi is Professor of Art History at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, USA.
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Egon Schiele and the Art of Popular Illustration
Claude Cernuschi
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Egon Schiele and the Art
of Popular Illustration
Claude Cernuschi
Cover image: Left: Egon Schiele, Self-Portrait, 1910, Leopold Museum. Right:
Josef Danilowatz, Image of Ticket Collector (detail) Die Muskete 4 November
1909.
First published 2023
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© 2023 Claude Cernuschi
The right of Claude Cernuschi to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this title has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-032-22031-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-22930-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-27478-0 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003274780
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Contents
Explanatory Note to the Reader viii
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xii
1 Introduction: Egon Schiele and Caricature 1
2 Landscapes and Townscapes 29
3 Religion 51
4 Children 79
5 Sexuality 103
6 Body “Language” 127
7 Facial Expressions 171
8 Hands 199
9 Fashion and Fashionability 237
10 Coda 257
Index 281
Explanatory Note to the Reader
Because the format of this book places a strict limit on the number of illustrations,
not all works discussed in the text could be included. For this reason, a website has
been established where all images discussed can be found. The URL is: https://cer-
nuschinyc.com/
All images are on the website in color. Those illustrated only in the book are offset
in bold with the designation “Fig.” (e.g., Fig. 1.1), while those only on the website
with the designation “Ill.” in regular font (e.g., Ill. 1.1).
List of Illustrations
1.1 Franz Wacik, “A Hope,” Die Muskete October 25, 1906. 4
1.2 Egon Schiele, Eduard Kosmak, 1910, Belvedere, Vienna. 12
2.1 Josef Danillowatz, “When the Swallows Return,”
Die Muskete April 13, 1911 (detail). 32
2.2 Egon Schiele, Krumau Town Crescent, 1914, Leopold
Museum, Vienna. 33
2.3 Franz Wacik, “Im Vorteil,” Die Muskete November 21,
1907 (detail). 34
2.4 Egon Schiele, Krumau Town Crescent, 1915, National Museum,
Jerusalem. 35
2.5 Egon Schiele, Row of Houses in Bohemian Krumau, 1914,
Leopold Museum, Vienna. 36
2.6 Josef Danilowatz, “Population Census in Croatia,” Die Muskete
December 29, 1910. 37
2.7 Fritz Schönpflug “Culture,” Die Muskete October 28, 1909. 40
2.8 Egon Schiele, Autumn Tree, 1909, Landesmuseum, Darmstadt. 44
2.9 Alexander Wilke, “Enjoyment of Nature,” Die Muskete
June 14, 1906. 45
3.1 Fritz Schönpflug “Die irae,” Die Muskete July 6, 1911. 53
3.2 Egon Schiele, Three Monks (Post Card to Heinrich Benesch)
1912, Private Coll. 56
3.3 Franz Wacik, “Your Wayside Shrine,” Die Muskete
August 5, 1909. 57
3.4 Egon Schiele, The Vision of St. Hubert 1916 (detail),
Richard Nagy. 58
3.5 Alexander Wilke, “The Lesser Evil,” Die Muskete
November 14, 1907. 60
3.6 Egon Schiele, Standing Monk, 1914, Private Coll. 61
3.7 Friedrich Koch, “American Wedding” (detail) Die Muskete
March 15, 1906. 65
3.8 Egon Schiele, Self-Portrait with Eyes Closed, 1914, Albertina,
Vienna. 66
3.9 Egon Schiele, Self-Portrait with Halo, 1913, Leopold Museum,
Vienna. 68
3.10 Alexander Wilke, “The Victor,” Die Muskete April 23, 1908. 69