Jane Kallir

This is an essay and catalog of a show put up at the Galerie St. Etienne in New York in 1983-1984. (The first exhibition of her work at that gallery was in 1958.)

"[Paula] was an artistic sieve, sifting outside influences and collecting, bit by bit, the particles that would later be of use." --Jane Kallir

Acknowledgements/bibliography: Letters and Journals, by Busch & von Reinken, translated by Arthur Wesinger of Wesleyan University and Carole Clew Hoey

Cover: Detail from Self-Portrait with Lemon
Frontispiece: Self-Portrait with Lemon
B&W plates include:
1. Girl with Yellow Wreath and Daisy, c. 1902
2. Peasant Woman in Profile, Facing Right, c. 1898
3. Standing Femal Nude, 1900
4. Standing Female Nude, from Back, 1906
5. Study of an Egyptian Statue, 1903 or 1905
6. Study of the "Princess d'Este," after Pisanello, 1903 or 1905
7. Paris Street with Hooded Child, 1905-06
8. Horsedrawn Bus, Paris, 1905-06
9. Still-Life with Yellow Bowl, c. 1906
10. Self-Portrait in Front of Paris Buildings, 1900 (*)
13. Old Factory, 1900
14. Bare Tree in Landscape, c. 1900
16. Gooseherd Playing a Flute, 1899-1900
17. Woman with Goose, 1899-1900
18. The Woman with the Goose, c. 1900
21. Little Child in High Chair, c. 1904
22. Mother Nursing Her Infant, c. 1903 (*)
23. Nursing Mother, 1905
25. Two Little Girls in Front of Tree Trunks, c. 1905
28. Kneeling Mother with Child, 1906
29. Kneeling Mother with Child, 1906
30. Reclining Mother with Child, 1906

Color plates include:
11. Bathing Boys by Canal, 1901
12. Girl in Landscape, 1901
15. Bare Tree in Landscape, 1900
19. Girl with Green Hat, in Profile, c. 1901
20. Self-Portrait with Necklace, c. 1903 (*)
24. Peasant Woman with White Cap, c. 1904
26. Portrait of the Artist's Sister, Herma, c. 1905
27. Reclining Female Nude, c. 1905-06
31. Still-Life with Pitcher, Peonies and Oranges, c. 1906
32. Still-Life with Bouquet of Dahlias, 1907





… (meer)

Following the introduction, the book is arranged chronologically; the first chapter covering the years up to 1907 when the artist was seventeen, followed by 1908-1909, with the successive chapters covering a year each up to 1918. The chapters open with about six or seven pages of illustrated text, to be followed by the relevant drawings; there is no bibliography.

A very readable book, the text provides a year by year account of the artist’s progress; his family situation and personal life, his education and development as an artist and what influenced him. It is an intelligent and reasoned account.

The vast bulk of the book however is taken up with the drawings and watercolours. All the images are reproduced in full colour, including the monochrome drawings. It contains over three hundred illustrations which, with the exception of those illustrating the text, are presented one to a page, with the a few double page spreads. The printing is excellent and the images appear rich and strong, well conveying the subtle textures evident in the artist’s work.

This is a most handsome volume, fairly modest in dimensions, but at nearly 500 pages certainly not in content. It is beautifully produced and presented; the choice of font for the text has quite obviously been given careful consideration, and perfectly complements Schiele’s drawings. The images combined with the sensitively written text cannot but draw one to Schiele, and highlight what a tragic loss that he should enjoy such a short life. If anyone has any doubts about the genius of Egon Schile, a little time spent perusing this splendid book will surely put that to rights.… (meer)