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拍品專文
Executed in delicately thin layers of pigment over pencil, Drei Mädchen is not only a testament to Egon Schiele’s increased confidence in the medium of watercolor over the course of 1911, but also the growing complexity of his compositions at this time, as he explored increasingly unusual poses and various groupings of multiple figures clustered together, their forms overlapping and intertwining with one another. Formerly in the esteemed collection of the Viennese dentist and early patron of Schiele’s work, Dr. Heinrich Rieger and his wife Berta, this work has more recently been part of the same family collection for over 45 years, and was last seen on the market in the late 1970s.
Over the course of 1911, Schiele’s art underwent a dramatic transformation as he began to shift away from the bold, jagged, angular lines that had previously dominated his oeuvre to explore a softer, more delicate approach to form. A key element in this development lay in the artist’s experiments with watercolor, a medium he played with repeatedly during this period as he sought to understand and master its capricious nature, particularly the traditional wet-on-wet technique. Allowing washes of color to bleed over the contours of his pencil drawing, Schiele brought a new sculptural quality to his sitters’ bodies, granting their forms a more rounded, organic, undulating character that highlights the sheer liquidity of the pigment and the bold movements of the artist’s paintbrush as it danced across the page. In Drei Mädchen, there is a particular sophistication in the nuance of his palette, with subtle variations in tone, opacity and finish as the washes of watercolor move across the sheet. Exploring different concentrations of pigment, he describes his models and their drapery in passages of soft lilac, violet and a pearlescent, rose pink, as well as rich, deep hues of indigo, forest green, ochre and copper, with certain forms and elements augmented by brief touches of pencil.
Drei Mädchen is distinguished in Schiele’s watercolor oeuvre from this period by its compositional complexity—it is one of only three works on paper from 1911 to feature three or more figures grouped together in this way. Viewed from above, the trio are intertwined in repose atop a dark, enveloping blanket gathering at the bottom of the page, their contours overlapping and abutting one another as they cluster together. The compact configuration of the three figures appears to echo the arrangement of bodies within Gustav Klimt’s multi-figure groupings, though here their positioning appears more natural, as if they have settled into their poses without any interference or direction by the artist. The central figure twists and stretches as she nestles into the blanket, her upper body titling towards the right as she shifts away from the sharp elbow near her face. The figure on the right appears lost in thought as she looks off into space, while the woman on the far left holds the viewer's gaze, her violet eyes steady and assessing as she raises her arms above her head, her hands lost in her waves of auburn hair, while her legs fall sideways towards her neighbor.
An impassioned connoisseur of the Viennese Secessionist and Expressionist movements, Heinrich Rieger (1868-1942) and his wife Berta Rieger née Klug (1870-1944) were among the foremost art collectors of pre-war Vienna. A dentist by profession, Rieger’s collection originated around 1900 and grew to include around eight hundred individual artworks. Rieger took particular pride in the display of his collection and is known to have had a dedicated “Schiele room,” possessing paintings and a selection of 120 to 150 drawings by the artist. A long time patient of Rieger, Schiele found in the Jewish dentist a kindred mind and the two developed a close friendship. This connection in turn furthered Heinrich’s appreciation for Schiele’s works, and helped to establish him as a singular authority on the artist.
Following the Anschluss in March 1938, the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, the lives of Heinrich and Berta Rieger were irrevocably altered. A prominent Jewish family, they were targeted by the Nazi party. Heinrich and Berta were deported to Theresienstadt where Heinrich died in 1942. Berta was transferred to Auschwitz in 1944, where it is believed she was killed on arrival. Their art collection was one of the many to be left and lost, confiscated and sold under duress.
Over the course of 1911, Schiele’s art underwent a dramatic transformation as he began to shift away from the bold, jagged, angular lines that had previously dominated his oeuvre to explore a softer, more delicate approach to form. A key element in this development lay in the artist’s experiments with watercolor, a medium he played with repeatedly during this period as he sought to understand and master its capricious nature, particularly the traditional wet-on-wet technique. Allowing washes of color to bleed over the contours of his pencil drawing, Schiele brought a new sculptural quality to his sitters’ bodies, granting their forms a more rounded, organic, undulating character that highlights the sheer liquidity of the pigment and the bold movements of the artist’s paintbrush as it danced across the page. In Drei Mädchen, there is a particular sophistication in the nuance of his palette, with subtle variations in tone, opacity and finish as the washes of watercolor move across the sheet. Exploring different concentrations of pigment, he describes his models and their drapery in passages of soft lilac, violet and a pearlescent, rose pink, as well as rich, deep hues of indigo, forest green, ochre and copper, with certain forms and elements augmented by brief touches of pencil.
Drei Mädchen is distinguished in Schiele’s watercolor oeuvre from this period by its compositional complexity—it is one of only three works on paper from 1911 to feature three or more figures grouped together in this way. Viewed from above, the trio are intertwined in repose atop a dark, enveloping blanket gathering at the bottom of the page, their contours overlapping and abutting one another as they cluster together. The compact configuration of the three figures appears to echo the arrangement of bodies within Gustav Klimt’s multi-figure groupings, though here their positioning appears more natural, as if they have settled into their poses without any interference or direction by the artist. The central figure twists and stretches as she nestles into the blanket, her upper body titling towards the right as she shifts away from the sharp elbow near her face. The figure on the right appears lost in thought as she looks off into space, while the woman on the far left holds the viewer's gaze, her violet eyes steady and assessing as she raises her arms above her head, her hands lost in her waves of auburn hair, while her legs fall sideways towards her neighbor.
An impassioned connoisseur of the Viennese Secessionist and Expressionist movements, Heinrich Rieger (1868-1942) and his wife Berta Rieger née Klug (1870-1944) were among the foremost art collectors of pre-war Vienna. A dentist by profession, Rieger’s collection originated around 1900 and grew to include around eight hundred individual artworks. Rieger took particular pride in the display of his collection and is known to have had a dedicated “Schiele room,” possessing paintings and a selection of 120 to 150 drawings by the artist. A long time patient of Rieger, Schiele found in the Jewish dentist a kindred mind and the two developed a close friendship. This connection in turn furthered Heinrich’s appreciation for Schiele’s works, and helped to establish him as a singular authority on the artist.
Following the Anschluss in March 1938, the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, the lives of Heinrich and Berta Rieger were irrevocably altered. A prominent Jewish family, they were targeted by the Nazi party. Heinrich and Berta were deported to Theresienstadt where Heinrich died in 1942. Berta was transferred to Auschwitz in 1944, where it is believed she was killed on arrival. Their art collection was one of the many to be left and lost, confiscated and sold under duress.