ABSTRACT
Egon Schiele was an Austrian figurative painter, whose work was marked by explorations of sexuality and personal and familial identity. He died in his late twenties, three days after his pregnant wife, during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Portrayals of family were a key theme within his work, with several paintings that couple parents and young children and especially mother and child. Hereditary transmission was a significant theme in his work, influential during a period where an interest in the health of the nation was driven by eugenic concerns. Schiele’s father died from syphilis, a condition that was often transmitted to children in the womb and which could have long-term health repercussions, and insanity shaped his family life, an illness that the period often considered heritable. Like his other works, his paintings of family life are often raw and challenging, objects that produce emotions in their viewer both then and now.
