EGON SCHIELE'S SELF-PORTRAITS: A PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDY IN THE CREATION OF A SELF (AUSTRIA, ARTIST).
Item
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Title
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EGON SCHIELE'S SELF-PORTRAITS: A PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDY IN THE CREATION OF A SELF (AUSTRIA, ARTIST).
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Identifier
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AAI8713770
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identifier
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8713770
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Creator
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KNAFO, DANIELLE SYLVIA.
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Contributor
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Steven Ellman
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Date
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1987
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Clinical
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Abstract
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Egon Schiele (1890-1918) was an Austrian artist who produced hundreds of self-portraits throughout his lifetime, a number of which strike the onlooker as unusual and even grotesque. This dissertation explores the psychological meaning of Schiele's self-portraits. The method employed consists of a theoretical analysis of the self-portraits from the viewpoint of both form and content, integrating contributions from art criticism and psychoanalytic theory. Schiele's self-portraits are considered in conjunction with his correspondence, journals, poetry, sketchbooks and other biographical data on his life. They are also viewed from an historical and cultural perspective. The fact that Schiele lived in fin-de-siecle Vienna--the time and place that witnessed the birth of psychoanalysis--is not surprising, for his stark and compelling exploration into the depths of his self, primarily through repeated, brutal confrontations with his sexuality, parallel the growing concerns of psychology at time time. As an Austrian Expressionist artist, Schiele's art also delineated the sentiments of alienation and insecurity felt by many in the superficially contented atmosphere of pre-War Europe.;In reconstructing Schiele's childhood, two formative events crucial for their effects on his life and art arise: the failed mirroring experience with his mother on the one hand, and the family deaths, including those of four siblings and, most importantly, that of his father by syphilis, on the other. Both of these circumstances had a profound influence on Schiele's body image and subsequent self-representation. Despite the continuous nature of his self-obsession, Schiele's depictions of himself varied in important ways, both psychologically and typologically. In fact, his self-portraits can be considered as reflecting changes in his psychic organization, particularly regarding the development of his sense of self. Therefore, Schiele's self-studies are divided into four phases, each of which is thought to represent an important shift in the way he came to deal with the two formative events in his life and how his coping strategies found expression in his art. The function of self-portraiture is examined, especially in its therapeutic role as mirror and the part it plays in self-consolidation and identity maintenance.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
