Franz E. Wischin

Egon Schiele and Adolf Hitler were both country bumpkins who survived by painting views of the city. Outcasts and losers both, their pictures show a hatred of modernity. While Hitler drew meticulous views of Vienna, Schiele explored the picturesque decay of his mother's birthtown, Cesky Krumlov. As its German name, Krummau, implies, its sandwiched position inside the meandering Moldau/Vltava river offers nearly endless perspectives to a painter.

This book wonderfully contrasts Schiele's many Krumlov city paintings with old and modern views of the city and marks their spot on a map (even though Schiele completed many of them in Vienna, working from photographs and sketches). While Cesky Krumlov has preserved most of its patina, it no longer contains the decrepit parts which are very visible, even central in Schiele's pictures.

The book mostly skirts the creepy issues of Schiele's life (which are extremely relevant to his time in Cesky Krumlov), concentrating on the less risky topic of architecture. My favorite picture in this book is the unfinished Old Buildings (Krumlov) 1914 which combines Schiele's keen architectural drawings with a van Gogh-like mastery of texture. Despite the total absence of humans, the place feels alive, even if its future looks bleak, threatening to collapse at any moment (appropriately, given the year it was painted).

Highly recommended.… (mer)