Description
Portrait of Gerti Schiele is a 1909 painting by Egon Schiele: the painter’s younger sister stands in profile with her eyes closed, in a long brown dress with a gathered hem and a patterned band at the waist, a black cloak falling behind her with a red and green embroidered edge. The original is held by the Museum of Modern Art in New York under inventory number 451.1982 and measures 140.5 x 139.5 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: | Portrait of Gerti Schiele |
| Other titles: | Porträt Gerti Schiele |
| Painter: | Egon Schiele (1890–1918) |
| Year: | 1909 |
| Original size (width × height): | 140,5 cm x 139,5 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil, silver and gold-bronze paint on canvas |
| Style: | Secession style and early Expressionism |
| Location: | Museum of Modern Art, New York (inv. 451.1982) |
| Our reproduction: | hand-painted oil on canvas, 6 sizes from 45 x 45 cm to 165 x 165 cm or a made-to-measure size |
Portrait of Gerti Schiele – Egon Schiele
What does the painting show?
Gerti stands the full height of the canvas, turned to the right, her eyes closed and her head slightly bowed. The dress is one large, almost flat field of warm brown: no shadow, no modelling, only an outline. At the waist a band of small pattern breaks it – white and brown florets on a pale ground – and at the bottom a gathered hem. Behind and beside her a black cloak falls, its edges embroidered in brown, brick and green. The ground is empty, pale and neutral. So the figure does not stand in a room but on a surface, and that is exactly why it reads as ornament and as portrait at the same time.
Why do people love it?
Because it is calm and very decorative. Large fields of warm brown and black, interrupted by pattern only twice, read like cloth or like a print design – the painting does not shout, it holds the wall. The square format is uncommon and therefore noticed: it sits well above a chest of drawers, between two windows, or on a narrow wall where a long format would be wrong. The colours are earth tones and get along with wood, leather and linen. People choose it for a bedroom, a study or a hallway – where they want something beautiful but not loud.
Where does it sit among Schiele’s works?
Among Schiele’s portraits of the people closest to him. Gerti was his sister and his first regular model; in 1909 he was nineteen and still close to Klimt’s decorative manner, which he later left behind. Related works in our selection are Portrait of Wally Neuzil, Portrait of the Artist’s Wife, Edith Schiele (Seated), Portrait of Herbert Reiner (Reiner Boy) and Young Mother. 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 decide whether this one works. The first is the large brown field of the dress – it has to stay even and clean, with no shading, or the flat, graphic effect the whole picture rests on is lost. The second is the small pattern at the waist and along the cloak’s edge, which has to be painted slowly and exactly, because it is the one place the eye rests. 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 painted and photographed in our workshop, so there are no workshop photographs of it on this page yet: the single photograph on the page shows the painting itself. What you receive is a canvas painting and a true oil painting reproduction: a Schiele reproduction painted by hand, a hand-painted copy of the original, and a painting for the living room that holds up close to.
Which size for which wall?
The original is almost square, 140.5 cm wide and 139.5 cm high, and our 125 x 125 cm comes closest to it. A square belongs where the wall is taller than it is wide: above a chest of drawers, between two windows, in a stairwell, or on the wall beside a door. In a smaller room or a hallway, 45 x 45 cm and 60 x 60 cm; above a sideboard or a desk, 75 x 75 cm or 95 x 95 cm; in the living room above the sofa, 125 x 125 cm; on a large bare wall, 165 x 165 cm. Over a sofa the picture should be about two thirds as wide as the sofa, with its lower edge 25-30 cm above the back. Hang it with the centre at eye level, about 145-150 cm from the floor.
Custom size, stretcher 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
Who is in the painting?
Gertrude “Gerti” Schiele, the painter’s sister, four years younger than him. She was his first regular model; he painted her several times, and here she stands in profile with her eyes closed.
Where is the original and how big is it?
In the Museum of Modern Art in New York, under inventory number 451.1982. It measures 140.5 cm wide and 139.5 cm high; our 125 x 125 cm comes closest to it.
When did Schiele paint it?
In 1909, at nineteen. It is an early work, still close to the decorative style of the Vienna Secession, before he moved into Expressionism.
What colours does it live with?
Warm brown, black, brick and green. It looks very good beside oak, walnut, leather and linen, and also on a darker wall.
How do I look after the painting?
Keep it out of direct sunlight and away from radiators and damp. Dust it with a dry soft brush; never use water or detergent on an oil on canvas.
Does it work as a gift?
Yes; if you are unsure which size to choose, or you do not know the wall, there is a gift voucher and the recipient picks the size.
Is this a print?
No. Every canvas is painted by hand in oils by a painter, for your order. We photograph the finished work and send you the photograph before it is dispatched.
