Question 1

True or false: Schiele never painted landscapes, focusing only on figures and portraits.

Accepted Answer

False. Schiele painted many landscapes, especially of the Czech countryside and towns like Krumau, often with a twisted, expressive style.

Question 2

True or false: Schiele painted over 3,000 self-portraits, more than any other artist in history.

Accepted Answer

False. While prolific in self-portraits, Rembrandt holds the record. Schiele created about 300 self-portraits, not thousands.

Question 3

True or false: Schiele’s work was praised by the Nazi regime as exemplary German art.

Accepted Answer

False. The Nazis deemed Schiele’s art 'degenerate' and removed his works from museums, similar to other Expressionist artists.

Question 4

True or false: Egon Schiele died of the Spanish flu at age 28, just days after his pregnant wife.

Accepted Answer

True. Schiele and his wife Edith both died from the 1918 flu pandemic. She was six months pregnant; he died three days after her.

Question 5

True or false: Schiele’s mother was his first art teacher and encouraged his career from childhood.

Accepted Answer

False. His father was a stationmaster who disapproved of art. His mother was unsupportive; his uncle became his guardian and recognized his talent.

Question 6

True or false: Schiele was a student of Gustav Klimt and briefly dated Klimt’s muse.

Accepted Answer

True. Klimt mentored Schiele, and Schiele had a short relationship with Klimt’s model and lover, Wally Neuzil, who appears in many of his works.

Question 7

True or false: Schiele was imprisoned for 24 days for exhibiting erotic drawings to minors.

Accepted Answer

True. In 1912, he was arrested for obscenity after a local official objected to children viewing his sexually explicit works; 24 days in jail.

Question 8

True or false: Schiele’s painting 'Portrait of Wally' was the subject of a famous restitution case after WWII.

Accepted Answer

True. The painting was looted by Nazis from Jewish art dealer Lea Bondi. After decades, it was returned to her heirs in 2010.

Egon Schiele Trivia Questions