Juliette's Blog: Egon Schiele

I decided to go forth with my "rag doll" design for my "runaway" themed look. This design deals with the manipulation and exploitation of females. I also want the makeup to express this. I have generated one initial makeup design to accompany the outfit. I decided to look at the Austrian artist Egon Schiele for inspiration, famous for his sexually explicit, deformed and degrading depiction of women which dominates his work. I think his style relates very much to my theme.

Egon Schiele, a protégé of the artist Gustav Klimt was active during the early 20th century. Schiele's paintings were predominantly of young nude women either in erotic poses or performing sexual acts. His paintings of the human figure are quite realistic but his lines are distorted and his forms, warped and grotesque so his style is very expressionist.

I think Schiele's paintings can be interpreted in many different ways. His paintings show human sexuality at its most raw and liberated. The subjects are upfront, unapologetic, with genitals explicitly on show. These images could be seen as vulgar and tasteless but the fact that they are un sugared and the women are not trying to hide anything make them a lot more honest. Throughout history, female sexuality has come second to male sexuality. Although the artist is male, these images could be seen as feminist art. The subjects could be seen as strong confrontational women, defiant and in control of their own sexuality.

However, on another hand the fact that the images are very pornographic could depict women solely as sexual objects made for the pleasure of men. The twisted lines employed by Schiele show how he thinks he can manipulate these women and the grotesque forms could express a view that female sexuality is something ugly and shameful. Schiele employed young local girls who were often minors and prostitutes to be his models. These groups are generally more vulnerable and so probably easily manipulated. This indicates that the artist did not regard women as worthy of respect. In most of his images we are looking down at the subject, showing that the artist views these women as inferior and degraded. The subjects are extremely exposed and vulnerable. The fact that we are observing them in such intimate situations makes us, the viewer, feel very intrusive and disrespectful of their privacy.