How Egon Schiele and Jean-Michel Basquiat changed the art world forever
Both prolific, both revolutionary, both dead at 28: Schiele and Basquiat, working at opposite ends of the C20th, single handily changed the course of art history.
Both artists sought to obliterate tradition, expectation and historical representations of human identity. Both sought to express the distress of human existence with aggressive distortions of the body. For both artists, line became the symbolic border between life and death and loss and trauma.
To mark the centenary of Schiele's death and the 30th anniversary of Basquiat's death, the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, presents a major comparative showcase of their work. With many pieces never seen before in Europe, this artistic extravaganza (2 Oct 18 - 14 Jan 19) certainly merits a trip to Paris.
In five works, here's how Schiele and Basquiat changed the art world forever.
There’s a primitive energy to Basquiat’s compositions, played out through bright colours, tangled lines and symbolic imagery including crowns, haloes, crowns of thorns and fragmented text. It’s easy, in these strong scrawled marks, to overlook the sophistication.
But imbued in his paintings are innumerable art historical, literary and political references that betray the extent of Basquiat's cultural capital. With his words and symbols, Basquiat interrupts the seeing of his work. He forces you to read it, and confront the anger, abuse, discrimination and inequality he experiences.
Above all, Basquiat directed his gaze on the absence of black artists. With his prolific depictions of the African and Afro-American diaspora, Basquiat revolutionised the art historical canon.