Description
Revelation is a 1911 painting by Egon Schiele: two standing figures, one behind and above the other, both wrapped head to foot in long robes that break into planes of olive, ochre and brick against a near-black ground. The original is held by the Leopold Museum in Vienna under inventory number 477 and measures 84.5 x 90 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: | Revelation |
| Other titles: | Offenbarung |
| Painter: | Egon Schiele (1890–1918) |
| Year: | 1911 |
| Original size (width × height): | 84,5 cm x 90 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Style: | Expressionism |
| Location: | Leopold Museum, Vienna (inv. 477) |
| Our reproduction: | hand-painted oil on canvas, 5 sizes from 70 x 75 cm to 150 x 160 cm or a made-to-measure size |
Revelation – Egon Schiele
What does the painting show?
Two figures stand side by side, the one behind a little higher. Both are wrapped in long robes that fall from the shoulders to the ground; the cloth is not painted smoothly but broken into sharply outlined planes of olive, ochre, brown and brick. The rear face is gaunt, with deep-set eyes; the front one is narrow and bony. At the right hangs a mottled gold and ochre band of cloth, and at the lower left a pale hand emerges from under the robe. The ground is dark, almost black, and behind the figures a large triangular shape is faintly drawn. Apart from the two faces and that one hand there is nothing else to see – everything else is cloth.
Why do people love it?
Because it is solemn and very collected. Two upright figures in a dark field work like a double pillar; the planes of cloth are outlined in dark and keep the painting readable from across the room. The colours – olive, ochre, brick and black – are warm earth tones, so the work gets along with wood, leather and linen. The scene is serious but quiet: two robed figures and two faces. People choose it for a study, a hallway or a stairwell – where a work should settle the room rather than command it.
Where does it sit among Schiele’s works?
Among Schiele’s works with two figures – two people who belong together and still stand each alone. Related works in our selection are The Hermits, Agony (The Death Struggle), Squatting Couple (The Family) and Double Portrait of Heinrich and Otto Benesch. The work dates from 1911, when the painter was twenty-one. 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 planes of the robes: each has to stay a plane of its own with a clear edge, because if the painter softens them the cloth turns into ordinary folds and the work loses its structure. The second is the faces and the hand – the only places with a soft transition among sharply cut planes; it is that difference that carries the scene. Like the original, our version is oil on canvas. 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. 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.
Which size for which wall?
The original is upright, 84.5 cm wide and 90 cm high, and our 80 x 85 cm comes closest to it. An upright format belongs where the wall is narrower than it is tall: between two windows, beside a door, in a stairwell, or above a narrow chest of drawers. In a smaller room or a hallway, 70 x 75 cm; above a sideboard or a desk, 80 x 85 cm or 93 x 98 cm; in the living room as the centrepiece, 130 x 140 cm; on a large bare wall, 150 x 160 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
What does Revelation show?
Two standing figures, one behind and above the other, both wrapped head to foot in long robes made of olive, ochre and brick planes. Only the two faces and one hand are visible; everything else is cloth.
Where is the original and how big is it?
In the Leopold Museum in Vienna, under inventory number 477. It measures 84.5 cm wide and 90 cm high; our 80 x 85 cm comes closest to it.
What year is the work from?
From 1911, as the record for the work gives it. Schiele was twenty-one at the time.
What colours does it live with?
Olive, ochre, brick and black. 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.
