Description
Portrait of Ida Roessler is a 1912 work by Egon Schiele: a head-and-shoulders portrait, on a small wooden panel, of the wife of the critic Arthur Roessler, seen in profile under a large black hat with a red accent, wrapped in black fur and an olive-green coat before a grey disc. The original is held by the Wien Museum in Vienna under inventory number 104206 and measures 39.4 x 31.4 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 Ida Roessler |
| Other titles: | Porträt Ida Roessler |
| Painter: | Egon Schiele (1890–1918) |
| Year: | 1912 |
| Original size (width × height): | 39.4 cm x 31.4 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil on wood |
| Style: | Expressionism |
| Location: | Wien Museum, Vienna (inv. 104206) |
| Our reproduction: | hand-painted oil on canvas, 10 sizes from 40 x 32 cm to 160 x 128 cm, or a made-to-measure size |
Portrait of Ida Roessler – Egon Schiele
What does the painting show?
The Austrian painter shows Ida Roessler from the shoulders up, in strict profile facing left. A wide black hat sits low over her forehead, with a band of blue and a bright red-orange accent on top. Below it, curly reddish-blond hair frames a pale face with a pointed nose, red lips and a single blue-grey eye. A thick black fur rises to her chin, and around it lies the olive green of a coat that opens at the bottom onto a patterned fabric in yellow, red and green. Behind her is a large grey disc on a white ground, painted in visible sweeping strokes, and the black of hat and fur is worked with scratched lines.
Why do people love it?
Because it is striking at a glance: the black hat and fur against the grey disc and the white ground make a strong, simple silhouette, and the red accent and the colourful fabric at the bottom are the only bright notes. The profile is calm and upright, with none of the twisting of Schiele’s better-known figures. And it is small and intimate, the portrait of a woman from the circle of people who supported him.
Where does it sit among Schiele’s works?
Among his portraits of people from his Vienna circle. Ida Roessler was the wife of the art critic Arthur Roessler, who met Schiele in 1909 and became his mentor and patron; Schiele’s 1910 portrait of Arthur is likewise in the Wien Museum. Other portraits in our selection are Trude Engel, Portrait of Paris von Gütersloh and Portrait of Eduard Kosmack. 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 passages are the hardest here. The first is the black of hat and fur, which is not flat but thickly laid and scratched through with fine lines; painted as one even black, it goes dead. The second is the profile itself: the line of nose, lips and chin has to stay sharp against the grey disc. The original is painted on a wooden panel; our copy is oil on canvas, and we do not present the two supports as the same. 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 small, 39.4 cm wide and 31.4 cm high, and closest to it is our smallest size, 40 x 32 cm, just 6 mm larger each way. Beside a desk, next to a window or in a hallway, 40 x 32 cm or 47 x 38 cm; above a chest of drawers or a bed, 65 x 52 cm or 75 x 60 cm; above a sofa in the living room, 100 x 80 cm or 125 x 100 cm; on a large wall or in a tall room, 150 x 120 cm or 160 x 128 cm. At the larger sizes a canvas painting with a face this big needs a few steps of distance, so that hat, fur and disc read as one shape. 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
Who was Ida Roessler?
Ida Roessler, born Ida Lange (1877–1961), was a translator and the wife of the Viennese art critic Arthur Roessler. Her husband was one of Schiele’s earliest supporters and became his mentor and patron after meeting him in 1909.
When was the portrait painted?
In 1912, according to the Wien Museum. Schiele painted it in oils on a wooden panel.
How big is the original?
The museum gives the painted surface as 39.4 x 31.4 cm, so it is a small panel. With its frame it measures 35.8 x 44.02 cm.
Where is the original?
In the Wien Museum in Vienna, under inventory number 104206. The same museum also holds Schiele’s 1910 portrait of her husband, Arthur Roessler.
What is she wearing?
A large black hat with a red accent on top, a thick black fur around her neck and an olive-green coat. At the bottom edge a patterned fabric in yellow, red and green shows through.
Does it work as a gift?
Yes; if you are unsure which size to choose, there is a gift voucher.
