EGON SCHIELE

(1890-1918)

Baby im Steckkissen (Anton Peschka, Jr)

Footnotes

Provenance
Galerie Welz, Salzburg.
Marlborough Fine Art, London (acquired from the above in January 1969).
Private collection, London (acquired from the above in March 1969).
Thence by descent to the present owners.

Exhibited
Salzburg, Galerie Welz, Meister des 20. Jahrhunderts, Summer 1968, no. 77.
London, Marlborough Fine Art, Egon Schiele, Drawings and Watercolours: 1907-1918, February - March 1969, no. VII.

Literature
Die Aktion, Berlin, circa 1916 (postcard).
Die Aktion, Berlin, 2 September 1916, vol. 6, no. 35/36, p. 487.
Verlag der Buchhandlung Richard Lanyi, Vienna, circa 1917-1920 (postcard).
J. Kallir, Egon Schiele: The Complete Works, 1998, no. 1815 (illustrated p. 560).

Following Schiele's marriage in June 1915 and his subsequent conscription to the Austro-Hungarian army just three day later, his artistic output plummeted dramatically, with far fewer works being produced between 1915-1916 than at any other point. Even when the artist's senior officers enabled him to practice, the number of works he created dwindled, with 1916 being his least productive year. As such, works from this time are considerably rare, making it more difficult to map his artistic development over this period. 1916 also marks the only year in which Schiele's male portraits would outnumber those of females.

In November 1914, despite Schiele's open disapproval and attempts to sabotage, his beloved younger sister Gerturde married his friend, fellow artist Anton Peschka. The boy depicted in lot 3 is their son, the artist's nephew, Anton Peschka Jr. Dating from 1916, this drawing is one a series that the artist made of the young boy.