The artwork titled “River Landscape” was created by Egon Schiele in 1913 in Vienna, Austria. It is an oil on canvas piece measuring 88.9 x 89.7 cm. The painting belongs to the Art Nouveau (Modern) movement and is classified as a landscape. As of my knowledge cutoff in April 2023, this artwork is part of a private collection.
The “River Landscape” by Egon Schiele is a representation of a natural scene with a focus on the patterning and texture that characterizes much of Schiele’s work. The foreground is dominated by what appears to be a barren landscape rendered in tones of brown with intricate linework suggesting cracks or crevices within the earth. There are small hints of color in the form of red and white flowers dotting the otherwise earthen terrain. Rising from this textured ground is a slender tree, bare of leaves except for a few at the top, reaching upwards toward the sky.
Above this detailed foreground, in stark contrast, is a simplified depiction of mountains across the horizon with shades of lilac and blue, suggesting distance and a cooler temperature compared to the warm earthiness of the foreground. Between the mountains and the textured ground, a sliver of white suggests a river on the horizon line, lending its name to the piece. The use of color, texture, and composition in the painting creates a somewhat divided scene, with the detailed and texturally rich landscape leading the eye to the tranquil simplicity of the distant horizon.
