Melanie Schiele (1886 - 1976)

Biography

Melanie was born in 1886. She was the daughter of Adolf Schiele and Marie Soukup.

"Born 1886, eldest of three surviving children of a railway stationmaster(elder sister, Elvira, died earlier) and sister of the artist Egon Schiele ; more serious in nature than her sister, Gertrude. Began work as a clerk at Klosternauberg railway station, 1902. Modeled for Egon Schiele 1906-10.

Although Gerti Schiele remained Schiele's favorite model during his adolescent years, Melanie Schiele also posed for him and he submitted a charcoal portrait drawing of her in support of his successful application to study at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts in 1906. Her enjoyment of modelling is evident in several pencil drawings of her face, in which her eyes are closed and her head is tilted back or framed by hand gestures. In 1908, Schiele painted individual portraits of the sisters in the Secessionist style. The portrait of Melanie Schiele depicts her face partially hidden by a veil, emphasizing her large eyes. The dramatic hat was one of many that she designed herself. In contrast to the reserved seriousness and self-conscious staginess of the picture of Melanie Schiele, the full-figure portrait of Gertrude Schiele displays a flirtatious liveliness. She too wears a fashionable hat, but with an easy confidence set off by the swirling design elements that appear in the background. ^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ Dictionary of Artists' Models by Jill Berk Jiminez

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