Edith with Striped Dress, Sitting by Egon Schiele, 1915

ABOUT THIS PAINTING

Egon Schiele proposed to twenty-two-year-old Edith Harms while he was still in a relationship with another young woman – Walburga Neuzil, known as Vally, who had been a loyal muse for the artist during his darkest days. But Vally was impoverished, not well educated, and used to making ends meet in whatever ways she could. But she was discarded. Edith, by contrast, was seen as a nice girl from a good family and, by asking her to become his wife, Egon was making a shrewd decision that he would be marrying “advantageously” – into a higher and more respectable social standing. Despite opposition from her family, the couple wed. Here, his wife sits in a striking black and white dress, her hands folded self-consciously in her lap, a flashing jewel on her finger, and a similar gemstone at her neck. She’s the picture of innocence and naivety, hardly an inch of flesh on show, her dress voluminous and carefully buttoned-up. As his wife and someone who would be introduced to his patrons, Edith would have been unwilling to remove her clothes and pose in the nude. Here, she exudes sweetness and patience. There’s none of the sexual urgency with which Schiele made his earlier incendiary artworks – and it proves an emerging maturity from the twenty-five year old artist. – Sophie Haydock

Painted: 1911
Location: Vienna, Austria
Repository: Leopold Museum
Artist: Egon Schiele
Original Format: Pencil and gouache on paper