Description
Mödling II is a 1918 oil painting by Egon Schiele: a view of the small town of Mödling, south of Vienna, packed with roofs, gables and chimneys around a tall pointed tower. It was left unfinished in the last year of his life. The original is held by the Wien Museum in Vienna under inventory number 243487 and measures 140 x 110 cm. We paint it by hand in oils on canvas at the size you choose, and before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished work for approval.
| Title: | Mödling II |
| Other titles: | the museum uses the same title |
| Painter: | Egon Schiele (1890–1918) |
| Year: | 1918 |
| Original size (width × height): | 140 cm x 110 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Style: | Expressionism |
| Location: | Wien Museum, Vienna (inv. 243487) |
| Our reproduction: | hand-painted oil on canvas, 6 sizes from 45 x 35 cm to 160 x 126 cm, or a made-to-measure size |
Mödling II – Egon Schiele
What does the painting show?
The Austrian painter looks down on Mödling from above, and the town fills the whole canvas: no street, no people, only houses pressed against each other. Steep roofs, stepped gables, chimneys and small dark windows are stacked up to the top edge, and in the middle rises a tall, pointed tower. The colours are chalky greys and whites with dull blues and greens, a patch of ochre yellow at the right edge and an almost black strip of sky at the top. Black contour lines run around the roofs and walls, and the paint lies thick, in short strokes that stay visible.
Why do people love it?
Because it works like a puzzle you can step into: the eye climbs from roof to roof and keeps finding another window, another chimney. The palette is quiet – greys, off-whites, faded blue – so the work settles easily into a room, while the black lines keep it lively from across it. And because Schiele never finished it, you can see how he built a composition: lines and patches of colour are still open in places.
Where does it sit among Schiele’s works?
Among his townscapes: houses crowded against each other were a subject Schiele returned to again and again. Earlier examples in our selection are Krumau on the Vltava (The Small Town IV), Houses on the River (The Old Town) and House Wall on the River. Mödling II dates from 1918, the year he died, aged 28. The full selection is in the Egon Schiele gallery, with more on his life in our article about Egon Schiele.
How is our hand-painted version made?
A painter works every canvas in oils, stroke by stroke: a hand-painted painting made for your order, not a machine print. Two things are hard here. The first is the black contour lines, which have to stay drawn and slightly uneven, or the town turns into a technical drawing. The second is the unfinished state: open patches and loose strokes are part of the work, so we paint them as they are and do not complete what Schiele left open. Like the original, our copy is oil on canvas. When it is finished we photograph it and send you the photograph for approval, and only then does it ship. This work has not yet been photographed in our workshop, so there are no workshop photographs of it on this page yet.
Which size for which wall?
The original is large, 140 cm wide and 110 cm high, and our 140 x 110 cm matches it exactly. Above a sofa or a sideboard in the living room, 120 x 95 cm or the original size of 140 x 110 cm; above a desk or a chest of drawers, 70 x 55 cm or 90 x 70 cm; in a hallway or a narrow niche, 45 x 35 cm; on a large wall or in a tall room, 160 x 126 cm. A canvas painting this dense needs a few steps of distance, because only from there do the roofs join up into one town. Hang it with the centre at eye level, about 145–150 cm from the floor.
Custom size, stretcher bar and frame
If none of our sizes suits your wall, we paint the work to your own measurement. If you choose “YES” under the Stretcher option, the canvas comes stretched on a wooden stretcher bar, ready to hang. Our 3D application is for choosing a frame only, not for showing the work on your wall. The frame is chosen separately and need not be part of the order.
Delivery and guarantee
We paint to order and deliver to sixteen countries in the European Union, among them Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Germany and France; the United Kingdom and Ireland are not currently among them. The painting arrives protectively packed and, if you chose “YES” under Stretcher, stretched on the stretcher bar; before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished work to approve. Production time depends on the size and on the studio’s workload. Every order is covered by our Returns and Refund Policy.
Frequently asked questions
Which town does Mödling II show?
Mödling, a small town just south of Vienna in Lower Austria. The Wien Museum record names Mödling as the place depicted and classes the work as a townscape.
When did Schiele paint it?
In 1918, the last year of his life. Schiele died in Vienna in October 1918 at the age of 28, so this is one of his late oils.
Is Mödling II finished?
No, it is unfinished and unsigned. Correspondence in the Peschka estate suggests that Anton Peschka sometimes “finished” works by his brother-in-law. For this canvas, however, curator Ursula Storch reported that restorer Karin Maierhofer had confirmed it as pure Schiele.
How did it come to the Wien Museum?
It is part of the Peschka Collection. Schiele’s sister Gerti married his close friend and fellow artist Anton Peschka, and their son, Anton Peschka junior, left the whole estate to the City of Vienna when he died in 1997.
What colours did Schiele use?
Mostly chalky greys and whites, dull blues and greens, a patch of ochre yellow on the right and an almost black sky along the top. Black contour lines hold the roofs and walls together.
Does it work as a gift?
Yes; if you are unsure which size to choose, there is a gift voucher.
