Egon Schiele, Portrait of his family, (unfinished) 1918
In 1918, at the age of 28, Austrian artist Egon Schiele began painting a portrait of his new family. That autumn, Egon, his wife Edith, and their unborn baby died. They were among millions of people who succumbed to the Spanish flu that year.
Gustav Klimpt, Portrait of Amalie Zuckerk, (unfinished) 1917-1918
Before his death, Schiele mourned his mentor and friend, the artist Gustav Klimt. Following a stroke, Klimt had died from the flu that February, at the age of 55. Schiele sketched a portrait of Klimt on his deathbed.
Egon Schiele, Portrait of Gustav Klimpt, 1918
Another artist who caught the flu but luckily survived was Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. While many of his early works convey haunting scenes of the death of his sister as well as fears of his own death, Munch’s Spanish flu paintings read more direct that the earlier dream-styled works.
Edvard Munch, Self-Portrait with the Spanish Flu, 1919
During 1919 Munch painted a series of self portraits documenting his bout with the Spanish Flu. In the first (above) his mouth is open as if a corpse. In the second, he leans towards the viewer with pale lips and feverish face. In the last (below) he appears to stagger forward, normal color returning.
Edvard Munch, Self-Portrait with the Spanish Flu, 1919Edvard Munch, Self-Portrait with the Spanish Flu, 1919
The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic lasted from January 1918 to December 1920. 500 million people were infected – 25% of the world’s population at the time. I hope the comparisons of the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 to the present day’s Coronavirus are not too foretelling. It’s disconcerting how similar the illustration “Germicide Rush” is to the present day.
Germicide Rush, 1918, National Library of Medicine, Fine Art America
[image_with_animation image_url=”10579″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] How many different surfaces have you painted on? It wasn’t until I discovered linen that I liked my oil paintings. Really. Everything I did when I painted, I hated. Well, at least I felt it wasn’t working. The way I moved the paint just kind of felt… meh. I …
[image_with_animation image_url=”7165″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Quilled brain by Sarah Yakawonis With some activities, I get a voice telling me it’s a waste of time. Usually this voice comes up loudly in the first 5 minutes of making art. Somehow, it doesn’t come up much when I watch tv. Unlike watching tv, I feel better when I …
When you think about linear perspective, do you think about this? Search the internet for perspective, and that’s pretty much what you’ll see. Billions of lessons illustrating the importance of one point, two point, and three point perspective. Lessons state that this is something every artist needs to learn in order to correctly render the …
Marina Abramović is a Yugoslavia-born performance artist based in New York. Her work explores the relationship between performer and audience, the limits of the body, and the possibilities of the mind. I realize not everyone admires the work of Marina Abramovic. She’s been called an attention seeker, a bullshit producer, an egoist. Dr. Lisa Levy, …
1918
In 1918, at the age of 28, Austrian artist Egon Schiele began painting a portrait of his new family. That autumn, Egon, his wife Edith, and their unborn baby died. They were among millions of people who succumbed to the Spanish flu that year.
Before his death, Schiele mourned his mentor and friend, the artist Gustav Klimt. Following a stroke, Klimt had died from the flu that February, at the age of 55. Schiele sketched a portrait of Klimt on his deathbed.
Another artist who caught the flu but luckily survived was Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. While many of his early works convey haunting scenes of the death of his sister as well as fears of his own death, Munch’s Spanish flu paintings read more direct that the earlier dream-styled works.
During 1919 Munch painted a series of self portraits documenting his bout with the Spanish Flu. In the first (above) his mouth is open as if a corpse. In the second, he leans towards the viewer with pale lips and feverish face. In the last (below) he appears to stagger forward, normal color returning.
The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic lasted from January 1918 to December 1920. 500 million people were infected – 25% of the world’s population at the time. I hope the comparisons of the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 to the present day’s Coronavirus are not too foretelling. It’s disconcerting how similar the illustration “Germicide Rush” is to the present day.
Stay well, friends.
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