The Leopold Museum is synonymous with Egon Schiele, and their 2018 exhibition of his works pulled in over 450,000 visitors. The museum has now added a few contemporary touches to the original exhibition and extended the dates into 2019.
- Special extended Jubilee exhibition at the Leopold Museum
- Schiele’s paintings, memorabilia, etc. now interposed with works by contemporary artists
- Runs Sept 28, 2018 – Mar 10, 2019
- See also:
- Current Leopold Museum visitor info
- Art exhibitions in Vienna
- Schiele in Vienna
What’s it all about?
Egon Schiele’s creative legacy grows with each passing day, and much of the credit goes to the Leopold Museum’s efforts to collate and present his work. He’s perhaps an acquired taste (it took me a while), but his name has lasted beyond the brief period of Viennese Modernism to achieve global recognition.
Unfortunately, WWI (or rather the Spanish flu that accompanied it) put an end to Schiele’s short life in 1918. To mark the centenary of his death, the Leopold Museum put on a major jubilee exhibition of his work, adding loans from other collections to their own world-beating resources.
See the bottom of the page for the museum’s teaser video (warning: includes nudity).
The exhibition featured his art, poems, letters, and photos, taking visitors on a journey across his creative life through such themes as self, ego, mother, spirituality, women, landscapes, cityscapes, and portraits. And just as an artist’s output might change through time, so it was with this exhibition, with works flowing in and out at intervals.
It all should have finished in early November, but the museum announced an extension through to March 2019, responding no doubt to the positive visitor numbers (over 450,000 by mid-October 2018).
In this final “Reloaded” iteration, works by nine contemporary artists slip into the exhibition, drawing links between today’s art and Schiele’s themes and motifs.
Dates, tickets & tips
The Schiele exhibition runs through to Sunday, March 10, 2019. At the time of writing, you get one-time free entry if you have a Vienna Pass tourist pass.
The museum is located in the MuseumsQuartier, the city’s main home for contemporary art and music. Be sure to check out some of the other exhibitions and events going on at neighbouring places like the MUMOK (Museum of Modern Art) or Kunsthalle.
How to get to the Schiele exhibition
The whole MuseumsQuartier complex is quite central and sandwiched between two subway stations: “MuseumsQuartier” on the U2 line and “Volkstheater” on the U2 and U3 lines. It’s also a short walk from the Ring boulevard, which is served by the 1, 2, D and 71 trams, among others.
Address: MuseumsQuartier, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna