Edith and Egon: Iconic Drawings of Egon Schiele from the NGP Collections

Drawing Seated Woman with Bent Knees (Edith) on display from 24 September to 11 October 2026

Drawing Self-Portrait on display from 13 October to 25 October 2026

This year, Czech Post has issued a commemorative postage stamp displaying Egon Schiele’s iconic drawing Seated Woman with Bent Knees (Edith) from 1917, to mark the occasion of the 230th anniversary of the founding of the National Gallery in Prague. The original artwork will be on display exceptionally for this occasion as part of the exhibition 1796–1918: Art of the Long Century, after which it shall make way for another of Schiele’s drawings, namely Self-Portrait from 1914. The drawings cannot be exhibited permanently, since light causes the colours to fade, and the paper to become yellow and brittle.

The two artworks present characteristic aspects of Schiele’s oeuvre, in which drawing served as a means of direct expression. The artist deformed the human, primarily the female body, accentuating psychological tension by means of unusual gestures and poses. Seated Woman with Bent Knees depicts a model who is most probably his wife Edith Harms, while Self-Portrait, through the vehicle of his facial expression and nervous gestures, conveys the artist’s own state of mind. The drawings were purchased in 1930 by the German section of the Modern Gallery – the second predecessor to the NGP – from the Würthle & Sohn art gallery and dealership in Vienna.

Venue: 4th Floor, Trade Fair Palace, as part of the exhibition 1796–1918: Art of the Long Century

Curator: Petra Kolářová