The Family (The Schiele Family Portrait) - Josef Müller

A formal nineteenth-century studio portrait of Egon Schiele's family taken by Josef Müller in Tulln. It shows the artist as a young child on a rocking horse.

This cabinet card photograph depicts the family of the Austrian Expressionist painter Egon Schiele. Taken in the studio of Josef Müller in Tulln, the image captures Schiele as a young child alongside his parents and sisters. The composition follows the formal conventions of late nineteenth-century provincial photography. Adolf Schiele, the father and stationmaster at Tulln, stands at the back in a dark frock coat. His stern expression was typical for paternal figures in Victorian-era portraiture. Marie Schiele sits at the centre wearing a dark dress with a wide lace collar. The garment also features puffed sleeves. The young Egon Schiele is positioned on the left, seated upon a wooden rocking horse. He appears to be approximately four years old, which dates the photograph to about 1894. His sisters, including Melanie and Gerti, are arranged around their parents. The photograph provides a record of the middle-class environment that shaped Schiele's early life before the family moved to Klosterneuburg. The sepia tones and slight silvering at the edges are characteristic of albumen prints from this period. The studio name and locations, Herzogenburg and Tulln, are printed in decorative script at the bottom of the mount. Josef Müller was a local photographer who operated studios in these towns, catering to the middle class of the region. This portrait is a primary document for those studying the biography of Egon Schiele. It contrasts with the distorted style he later developed in his own paintings. The stiff poses and serious expressions reflect the social expectations of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The physical condition of the original photograph, including small surface marks and the texture of the card stock, is visible in this high-resolution reproduction.