Egon Schiele Landscape Paintings

Egon Schiele was a famous Austrian painter who was born in 1890. He became an artist from a very young age but was not supported by his father. Egon truly embraced his artistic talents at 14 after his father’s demise.

While some infamous paintings of Egon Schiele depict raw desirability and disturbed intensities, his more famous paintings represent landscapes (mostly of his native town) and Austrian Expressionism. In this movement, great Austrian artists used to express their inner feelings through their art.

Egon Schiele is one of the leading artists in Austrian Expressionism. His landscape paintings are one example where he used artwork to express his inner emotions. Some of Egon Schiele's landscape paintings have caught several people's eyes.

Egon Schiele Landscape Paintings

Four Trees (1917)

View painting: Four Trees - Egon Schiele

Egon was an Expressionist artist who used his paintings to represent his emotions. Schiele's Four Trees is a stunning painting that shows great depth through the contrasting lighting, which draws attention to the sun and mountains in the background. The trees are placed evenly in the image, their beautiful essence capturing a viewer's eye.

Historians and artists have had many discussions regarding what the trees represent. Most agree that the trees symbolize healthier aspects of people when they are completely separate from society.

This can also be considered a self-portrait by Egon. Here the concept of anthropomorphism comes into play. Human attributes are given to the trees, and the trees have been given more detail. When comparing the 'Four Trees' with his other paintings, you'll see that Schiele went to great lengths and away from the typical landscapes of that time to create this augmented reality.

The painting has a contrast between dark and light, and this is something that can be seen in Egon's landscape artworks. Out of all the works, this is the most reproduced Egon Schiele's painting. Today this masterpiece is located in Austria at the Belvedere in Vienna.

Yellow City (1914)

View painting: Yellow City - Egon Schiele

Some of Egon Schiele's paintings feature landscape, and one of the artworks is the breathtaking

Yellow City. What Egon fans most enjoy in this work is how the city was represented. The buildings in this cityscape are painted with neither a starting nor an ending.

There is strong linearity seen in Yellow City. Egon has used colorful hues like red, brown, and yellow giving an element of warmth. The aura of the painting is the artist's distinct style, i.e., sharp line work oozing out into the painting. Egon used hard edges in this painting, indicating an abrupt transition from one shape or color to another.

While the painting portrays abundance when looking at the houses, a more in-depth analysis suggests that these densely clustered houses lack any soul presence. The landscape towards the top of the painting has a beautiful contrast between the countryside and the city.

Almost unnoticeable, but with a closer inspection of Egon Schiele's Yellow City, a river can be seen flowing amongst the colorful trees. The overall vibe the painting gives us is fine artistry and vibrancy.

Schiele has made a substantially cropped painting where the city boundaries can't be made out. It looks as if Egon randomly selected the area and focused only on the aura and linearity, which can be seen repeated in most of his paintings. This artwork contains far less controversy than other Egon Schiele's art.

House with Shingles (1915)

View painting: House with Shingles - Egon Schiele

Egon painted a series of cityscapes for which he got inspiration from the town of Kamru. The town today is called Český Krumlov, a city in the South Bohemia region of the Czech Republic. The House with Shingles is considered the most popular of this series of cityscapes. The painting has an alternative, less famous title, i.e., House with Shingle Roof (Old House II).

Schiele used to visit the town frequently and painted various cityscapes and portraits. While this cityscape received positive feedback from the people, his portraits were criticized due to the models' poses and ages.

Before painting this masterpiece, Egon used pencil first as preparatory before painting House with Shingles. As a result, the color of the orange hue in the painting is consistent. In addition, Egon initially wanted to paint a river running along the house at the bottom of the canvas but left this out to leave extra space.

Setting Sun (1913)

View painting: Setting Sun - Egon Schiele

Displayed in Leopold Museum in Vienna, Austria, Setting Sun, originally called Sinking Sun, remains Egon's most regarded work.

The artwork conveys a melancholic expression by using the trees in the painting as the source. The trees are portrayed in a way to make them look unhealthy, negative, and dull. In this way, the Setting Sun is a little similar to Four Trees.

The painting is a contrast between light and dark. It gives a cold feeling as the light slowly dissipates in the picture when you look from top to the bottom of the canvas. This painting gives a similar aura as the painting of the famous Norwegian artist, Munch. The inspiration for the composition was taken from Japanese print design, and today it's also being used in photography.

House with Laundry (1914)

View painting: House With Drying Laundry - Egon Schiele

Also called Häuser mit bunter Wäsche (Vorstadt II), this is an important painting from his collection of townscapes. Where he painted the painting is exactly unknown.

The painting shows two houses located on each side of the canvas. The houses are simple yet full of life in terms of the color scheme. There seems to be a profoundly emotional and family connection being portrayed in this composition, even though the painting seems to lack human presence.

Even the human aspects of the painting, i.e., the clothing line or shutters, do not indicate inhabitants. The only element of the painting that gives the sense of human presence is Egon's projection of his emotion and state of mind.

Conclusion

Egon Schiele died at the ripe age of 28 in 1918 due to the Spanish Flu. In this brief period, Egon managed to gain a reputation and fame. While his landscapes and cityscapes are famous, Egon is mainly known for making adult-themed art pieces.