Schiele and Klimt at The Royal Academy of Arts - Review

The Art Exhibition at the Royal Academy for the 100th anniversary of Schiele and Klimt death is one of those unmissable events.

Not only we are talking about two of the most famous modernists in bohemian Vienna at the beginning of 20th-century but also two of the most talented, provocative, erotic and radical artists of the last 100 years.

The exhibition turns the artistic and creative relationship between Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele in an exciting and grasping experience highlighting some of their most rare and fragile artworks.

Gustav Klimt, Standing Female Nude from The Royal Academy

The exhibition is divided into five sections where visitors can view gorgeous landscapes, erotic nudes and raw sketchbooks. Gustav Klimt is very modern, an established master in the Art-Nouveau Austria. Schiele is a young, talented and scandalous artist exploring the erotic world

The main feelings walking through the gallery is emancipation, physical and mental decadence. Klimt and Schiele paint the poverty, disease and hunger of the first decades of 1900 through bony and dramatic figures.

Although the exhibition seems like a Klimt versus Schiele competition, it’s soon obvious that it’s comparing the two geniuses in their main themes.

Schiele met Klimt in 1908 and it’s immediately obvious that their style and themes were influenced by each other: figures exposed in all their nudity and intimacy, isolation and naked embraces drawn with thick lines – soft in Klimt, aggressive in Schiele.

Egon Schiele, Seated Female Nude from The Royal Academy

Klimt paints elegant figures with sinuous lines and soft colours whereas Schiele uses harsh contours that seem violent. Klimt often cuts his female drawings at the arms, suddenly their figures disappear on the border of the paper. It’s noticeable how the style of the two artists develop differently. Klimt’s style is softer, rounding the sharp angles, his subjects look like ghosts. This is probably because they are sketches for his paintings. Schiele seems to be drawing his frustration and anger, pressing the pencils on the paper.

While Schiele drew his face many times, for example, the Self-Portrait with Eyelid Pulled Down, Klimt was not a fan of self-portraits. Klimt was never interested in his inner self but on his subjects. However, both artists produced many images of people masturbating and having intercourse.

The exhibition was well curated to provide a staggering contrast between the two artists. This combination provides a very satisfying experience where every piece contrasts the last, narrating a story about friendship and artistic admiration.