Egon Schiele

by Xavier Coste

The story of the artistic genius who provoked early 20th-century tolerance. Egon Schiele is an evocative depiction based on the life of the Austro-Hungarian artist whose short career spanned the turn of the 20th century. Schiele (1890-1918) was a painter known for full-frontal portraits of naked women (and on many occasions, himself). They were stark and disturbing. He painted his subjects in gaunt, twisting and unnatural poses. Their voyeuristic tone and blatant eroticism outraged society, landing him in prison for 24 days. Nevertheless, his works would have a strong influence on the development of expressionist art. The book focuses on the artist's creative years, the development of his talent, his relationships with other artists, including Gustav Klimt, the women in his life, and his obsession with making provocative art. Quickly following Schiele's early successes were his failures. In the end, it was the Spanish flu that killed him at the tragically young age of 28. Egon Schiele is a seductive and intimate portrait of an artistic genius who was both lauded and condemned for his brilliance. His works, at one time judged to be disgusting and perverse, are now considered masterpieces and are in museums all around the world.

Genres: Art, Comics, Graphic Novels, History, Biography, Bande Dessinée, Nonfiction

72 pages, Hardcover

First published May 23, 2012

About the author

Xavier Coste est un auteur de bande dessinée et illustrateur français, né le 6 mai 1989 à Bayeux en Normandie.

Il est titulaire d'une licence en Arts Graphiques de la prestigieuse école Penninghen à Paris. En mai 2012, en tant qu’auteur, il sort son premier album biographique "Egon Schiele, vivre et mourir" chez Casterman : il se concentre sur la romance de l’artiste peintre autrichien Egon Schiele. Il a directement travaillé à l’ordinateur avant de le tâtonner et de le recarder.

En mai 2013, il présente son second album "Rimbaud, l'indésirable" chez le même éditeur, une biographie du poète Arthur Rimbaud. En janvier 2015, "À la dérive" est consacré à la crue de la Seine de 1910.

Reviews

[Milena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Godinama se (uzaludno) nadam da ću u giftšopu nekog evropskog muzeja naći bar jednu sitnicu sa delima Egona Šilea. Klimt na šoljama, Klimt na majicama, Klimt na magnetima, a mog Šile(t)a nigde.

Egonova dela volim od detinjstva delom zbog “haha, vidi gole piše!” a delom zbog neurotične linije, plešućih boja i ekspresivnih uglastih tela. Sve do danas nisam znala skoro ništa o njegovom burnom životu i preuranjenoj smrti u dvadeset osmoj godini od Španske groznice, tako da ću sigurno posle ovog stripa nastaviti da čitam dalje o njemu.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zeichnerisch ist diese Künstlerbiografie ganz wunderbar gelungen, Stimmungen und Farben sind perfekt eingefangen. Auf der sprachlichen und inhaltlichen Ebene allerdings leider schwache Durchschnittskost, was im Kontrast zum Anspruch, den ich bei einer Biografie von Schiele erwartet hätte, und Xavier Costes Artwork mich dann doch sehr gestört hat. Hier hat Costes enormes Potential verschenkt.

[Mateen Mahboubi · Rating 2 out of 5]

It gets points for introducing me to the artist but I can't recommend it much. Very surface level on the life of Schiele and not interesting enough in its illustrations to overcome the weakness of the story.

[Jeroen Decuyper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een strip over de schilder Egon Schiele in de stijl van zijn schilderijen: dat was de hoofdreden waarom ik dit lijvig beeldverhaal ontleend heb in de bib. Bij het vastnemen en het doorbladeren van de strip twijfelde ik om hem mee te nemen of hem alsnog te bestellen in de boekhandel. Achteraf gezien ben ik tevreden dat ik hem niet gekocht heb.

De tekeningen, de kleuren en de pagina-indeling beviel me nochtans best: alle personages zijn wat hoekig getekend, in de typische stijl van de grootmeester: onmiskenbaar Schiele. Maar het verhaal is zo vlak en bij momenten een afhaspelen of opsommen van droge feiten dat het je als lezer uit de sfeer van het verhaal trekt. Het was simpelweg niet beklijvend, niet pakkend genoeg.

De gekwelde en controversiële Schiele die zich willens nillens tegen de gevestigde waarden keerde, choqueerde om te choqueren en uiteindelijk eenzaam en alleen stierf aan de gevolgen van de Spaanse griep, is niet dezelfde die ik tijdens een namiddag zo'n vijf jaar geleden in het Weense Leopold Museum heb leren kennen. De paar uur rondstruinen in de gigantische collectie van het Leopold hadden een verpletterende indruk gemaakt op mij. Een ervaring waar dit beeldverhaal absoluut niet kan aan tippen. Nu, omwille van de indrukwekkende tekenstijl van Coste zijn het drie sterren geworden en geen twee.

[Roberta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sono passata in biblioteca e ho fatto razzia di biografie a fumetti.
Diciamo che questa richiede forse un po' di conoscenze pregresse per essere goduta appieno, o per lo meno Google Immagini per richiamare i quadri citati.
Schiele non è un personaggio simpatico, ma cade nella categoria dell'artista incompreso e tormentato. Donnaiolo, riporta nei quadri sofferenza e sesso. Per il tempo in cui ha vissuto è stato ai limiti della pornografia.
Non amo particolarmente i suoi quadri, mi dicono poco, ma se ne riconosce la bravura.

[Ashley Tanasiychuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schiele the womanizer, Schiele the jerk, Schiele the spoiled brat. The author doesn't pull punches around these controversies.
A great, quick look at the young artist's life.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly fascinating life story of an artist I knew nothing about. Egon Schiele largely attempted to live up to the success of his mentor, Gustav Klimt, by delving into the seedy side of art - sex and prostitution and cold, naked bodies as they actually appeared. Naturally, Schiele had several tumultuous relationships and ultimately found himself in prison on pornography charges. Spoiler alert: he died young, so that's why you haven't heard of him.

The story is well told and the art reflects that of Schiele himself, which is notably impressive. It's not Xavier Coste's fault that Schiele lived a short, fairly uninteresting life, but that does make for a less-than-riveting biography.

[Mortimer · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit disappointing.



I don't know if it was Egon himself, the author of the graphic novel, or the translator, but the character (and I say that because this is a 'fictionalized' biography) came off as a barely tolerable, melodramatic narcissist with a tendency toward compulsive lying...as though he had no redeeming features other than his artistic talent. Is that true? I don't know, maybe it is. I haven't read about him before, only looked at his art.

However, what makes me suspicious is that the dialogue on the whole sounded way too modern and hollow, as well as without differentiation: as if it was all the same person talking (which is why I suspect the author and/or translator). Cardboard cutout characters spewing the phrases of their respective tropes: the harsh art teacher; the sellout; the nymph; the nag; the cold mother; etc., etc., so on and so forth.

It depicts Klimt (or another man that looks exactly like him) as sending Schiele to jail for painting his daughter naked, and sending him an angry letter when he is in jail, but then, with no explanation and no further discussion on the matter, Klimt is seen to allow Schiele at his deathbed. What even happened there?

The the whole book reads like a dulled and overly condensed modern-day drama about a clueless ladies' man with a victim complex. Again, maybe that's what he was, I don't know.

However, what was most disappointing was the lack of his work in the story, and any sense of his real, deeper motivations behind it. It focuses mainly on his most salacious pieces and his feelings about them are confined to shocking the population (and, in turn, I feel that is what the author is doing— using the 'biography' of Schiele to shock/attract readers with sex and then use it as a platform to make his own petty points, like badmouthing art school).

Schiele made so many unique and interesting pieces and I'm absolutely certain there was more behind them than what is presented here.

All this book does is portray him a simple erotic artist who was 'before his time' and 'fighting against the man'. It doesn't show his depth. And it does not do him justice.

[ivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not 100% sure how to assess this. As an introduction to Egon Schiele, it's not terribly effective — it shows little of his actual art, and even in talking about it things are pretty vague. Since Schiele isn't much of a sympathetic character (with good reason), it's unlikely to prompt anyone to seek out his art if they don't already know it.

Meanwhile if you are familiar with Schiele, this will be pretty unsatisfying. The book is brief and fact-wise I'm not sure it covers much more ground than your average honest artist bio would. It does cover more than Schiele himself would — it makes clear that he was arrogant, misogynist, and aloof. But it never really delves into the deep irony: that someone who could create such viscerally emotional works could be so unfeeling toward those around him.

So if it doesn't work as an introduction, and doesn't work as a complex biography, what is it trying to do? The art of the book is fine, but given the lack of the art of the artist, even that aspect of things feels unfinished.

Schiele was a pretty terrible person and had a pretty brief life, but given the emotional impact of his work I would have liked to have seen more depth here.

[Collezionedistorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dopo averne ammirate dal vivo le opere nel mio viaggio a Vienna di quest'anno, la mia curiosità nei confronti di questo artista è decisamente aumentata ed ecco spiegato l'acquisto di questo fumetto. È un'opera molto breve, dal formato grande e rilegato (potrebbe essere anche un ottimo regalo per i suoi estimatori), che si concentra sulla vita privata di Schiele: la sua amicizia con Klimt (che gli fu maestro e rivale), le tante donne che ha ritratto e che gli sono state amanti (in particolare Edith, con cui concluse la sua vita, e Wally), la freddezza del rapporto con la madre, il suo periodo di carcere e quello di servizio militare. Ho particolarmente apprezzato che nelle linee e nei colori delle tavole venga ricordato lo stile dell'artista stesso, ha arricchito la lettura, che non è certo un approfondimento biografico ma è comunque una lettura che trasmette bene la fragile e complessa personalità di Schiele e ne ricorda le opere controverse e scandalose per il primo Novecento austriaco.

[Willem van den Oever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Xavier Coste’s biography is a successful work on Egon Schiele’s life and work. The tragic story of the tortured – and often far from likable – artist is delicately but powerfully put to paper.
Coste’s work is rich and textured, referencing Schiele’s qualities without blindly copying it. The sober color-palette and framing further compliment the impressive work.
The final result is an interesting and touching look into the Austrian’s life and well worth the read. Coste’s work might serve as a good introduction for those more interested in the expressionist’s life, while at the same time being a very powerful and beautiful graphic novel in its own right.

[Joseph Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pornographer, pedophile, philanderer apparently has some talent as an artist. This is his biography, filled with naked models flaunting boobs in provocative poses. His failure in art school, rich family distancing themselves from him, his affairs colliding, before his imprisonment, release, and death from influenza. Unfortunately, this book does not go too much into his work after the earlier salacious material.

[Kenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Der Stil der Bilder hat mir gut gefallen. Die Dialoge fand ich allerdings sperrig. Weil viel von Schiele's Biografie im nachhinein beschönt, verfälscht, zensiert wurde, handelt es sich beim comic mehr um Interpretation und Fantasie von Xavier Coste. Mich hat aber schon gewundert, warum er der jahrelangen Lebensgefährtin Wally Neuzil so wenig Beachtung geschenkt hat. Sie erfüllt im comic nur die Funktion einer gekränkten geliebten. Durch den bechdel test ist der comic eh gefallen.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great job fitting in with the style of Schiele himself, with both the linework and colouring. And while it doesn't make Schiele come across as the best example of a human being (He does some very cringy things) it does make for an interesting read, and is a well suited format when speaking about an artist.

[Salomé]

J'arrive pas à avoir de la compassion pour des hommes artistes "ouinouin je veux pas une relation stable parce que je suis un peiiintre et j'ai besoin de corps féminins nus, mes muuuses (avec qui je couche puis relationne puis trompe of course pourquoi me limiter à une seule femme pf), quitte à ce que ce soit des gosses pour l'aaaaart"

pf pf pf lamentable

[Sadiel Giron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read about a young painter and his life tragically ended before he could reach his maximum potential. It was an ok read. Didn't know anything about him. Can't say I would recommend this to someone.

[Jesse Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

A masterfully-done book about a pretty miserable person.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea about Egon Schiele's personal life - had just seen some of his work and found it intriguing. The graphic novel format told a strong story about the artist's life, warts and all.

[Grzegorz · Rating 3 out of 5]

ilustracje srednio ratują scenariusz

[Rosalía · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great drawings, great story, great book.

[Evan Frew · Rating 2 out of 5]

The artwork is alright but it doesn't do Schiele any justice, in that sense. I was probably better off getting a picture book of his work from my library instead.

[Elodie Rey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une bande dessinée qui rend hommage à Egon Schiele en narrant sa vie. Le portrait de l’artiste est artistiquement et biographiquement réussi. « Tant de tableaux qui n’auront pas été peints »

[Constance · Rating 2 out of 5]

Invented cancel culture by accident.

[Sam Gribben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite enjoyed reading a graphic novel as part of this year’s pukapuka challenge. In fact, read another one too!
This guy was a bit of an asshole it would seem. Bloody artists.

[Anne K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

J’en voulais plus! Bien que courte, la vie d’Egon Schiele a été mouvementée. C’est un personnage complexe qui aurait mérité qu’on s’attarde plus sur ses contradictions et sa psychologie. Une super BD pour découvrir le peintre, surtout pour ceux ou celles qui ne connaissent pas du tout.

[Mahatma · Rating 3 out of 5]

De tekeningen zijn binnen de schiele-sfeer, zij het ‘inder urgent, maar daar heb ik me niet aan geergerd. Triest was het verhaaltje dat geen ritme had, afgehaspeld werd en geruigde van een pathetiek waar Mooi en Medogenloos nog jaloers op zou zijn. Een gemiste kans.

[Emmawiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 - Si j’ai été ravie de découvrir un pan de la vie d’Egon Schiele via cette BD, je l’ai trouvé beaucoup trop courte et pas assez poussée ! Je pense qu’il y avait matière à en raconter bien plus...