Egon Schiele:
Gertrude Schiele before 1909 (I)
Photograph
14.6 × 8.7 cm
© Leopold Museum, Vienna
Based on curatorial notes from the Leopold Museum

This early portrait of Gertrude “Gerti” Schiele (1894–1981), Egon Schiele’s younger sister, offers a rare glimpse into the private world surrounding the artist before his rise to notoriety. The photograph, taken before 1909, exists in three known versions. In the present image, Gerti looks directly into the camera—composed, self-aware, and quietly luminous. In the other two, she appears in profile: one with her gaze lowered, the other turned slightly to the left. Each variation captures a different emotional register, as if testing the boundaries between formality and introspection.

Her hairstyle is particularly striking. The pinned updo is encircled by a decorative band and adorned with small leaves and cherry-like ornaments at the back—details that feel both playful and deliberate. On the visible right side, a circular clasp adds a final accent. This same clasp appears in several of Egon Schiele’s works, including preparatory drawings and the 1909 painting Portrait of Gerti Schiele, now held by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. That painting was once part of Rudolf Leopold’s personal collection, further linking this photograph to the artist’s inner circle and visual vocabulary.

The photograph’s clarity and compositional care suggest a formal studio setting, though the intimacy of the pose hints at a more personal exchange. Gerti is not simply posed—she’s present. The image balances elegance with quiet assertion, and its visual details echo through Schiele’s early portraiture.

One version of the photograph was printed as a picture postcard, intended to be sent. Whether it was ever mailed is unknown, but the gesture suggests a blend of intimacy and presentation—Gerti as both sister and subject, muse and messenger.

Gertrude outlived her brother by more than sixty years, and her recollections later contributed to biographical accounts of Schiele’s early life. Her presence in his work—both visual and emotional—remains one of the most enduring threads in his formative period.

The Leopold Museum’s curatorial note not only preserves the photograph’s provenance but also frames it as a visual hinge between Schiele’s private world and his evolving artistic vocabulary. Their documentation forms the basis of this post and the image credit is theirs.