SCHIELE SUNFLOWERS

Now that spring is nearly upon us, I can't help but feel inspired by flowers. A traditional decorative art motif, sunflowers have often been depicted throughout art history, most notably by Monet and Van Gogh (see my Van Gogh sunflower post here).

Generally considered to be jubilant subject matter, sunflowers take on a macabre meaning in the works of Egon Schiele.

As I discussed in previous posts (here and here) Schiele (1890-1918) was an Austrian Expressionist painter who is well known for his hundreds of figural works, despite his tragically short life.

Many of the artistic techniques he employed in depictions of the human form are utilized in his paintings of sunflowers.

Spindly, emaciated, and somewhat sad, many art historians have seen Schiele's paintings of sunflowers as an analogy for his life and work.

Here is a wonderful short article by Michael Glover on Schiele's Sunflower II, which compares the work to the sunflower paintings of Monet and Van Gogh.

Inspired by Schiele's unique take on the common subject matter, I created an outfit that I hoped would express the character of the works.

I'm wearing a silk See by Chloe blouse, vintage hat, thrifted military issue cargo pants, suede Lauren Merkin clutch, and leather Dolce Vita wedges.

The necklace was a Christmas gift (thank you, Kristen!) and the lovely sunflower bracelet was made by my Aunt, using Swarovski crystals. You can visit her Etsy shop here.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be traveling through San Francisco, Honolulu, and Atlanta. I would love to hear suggestions of places to go/art to see, so feel free to leave a comment or email me!

[Schiele images from oceansbridge.com, saleoilpaintings.com, and oilpaintings-sales.com, respectively.]