Prison

In April 1912, Schiele spent 24 days in prison. He was charged with seducing an underage girl, abduction, and exhibition of pornographic material to minors. After his arrest, the police seized many drawings they deemed pornographic in nature. After 21 days awaiting trial in prison, the only charge found to be of any merit was exhibition of pornographic material to minors. In a sanctimonious show reminiscent of the Inquisition, the judge at a hearing burned a drawing Schiele kept in his bedroom, and sentenced him to 3 more days in prison, taking into account the 21 he had previously served.

In his journal, Schiele said of the ordeal:

        The investigation ran its wretched course. But I have miserably borne unspeakable things. I am terribly punished without punishment.

        At the hearing one of my confiscated drawings, the one that had hung in my bedroom, was solemnly burned over a candle flame by the judge in his robes! Auto-da-fé! Savonarola! Inquisition! Middle Ages! Castration, hypocrisy! Go then to the museums and cut up the greatest works of art into little pieces. He who denies sex is a filthy person who smears in the lowest way his own parents who have begotten him.

        Anyone who has not suffered as I have-how ashamed he will have to feel before me from now on!

While in prison, Schiele completed several watercolors that balanced a representation of the starkness and sterility of the prison setting with an expressionistic angst that became more pronounced over time.


The Single Orange Was the Only Light

“The Single Orange Was the Only Light” conveys the harshness of the jail cell through its selective use of color on the three items that brought Schiele comfort: his own folded jacket used as a pillow on the head of the bed, a blanket, and a vividly painted orange that was brought to him by his mistress Vally. The details of the door’s locking mechanism and the room’s layout, while recorded, are not overworked and left as simple line drawings without value.

I Feel Not Punished But Purified!

Schiele’s sarcastic wit is reflected quite clearly in the title “I Feel Not Punished But Purified!”. When asked by a guard to clean the area near his cell, he said in his diary that he was excited to finally have something to do after hours of lonely contemplation. After thoroughly cleaning the floor, Schiele was met with a spit on the floor and a request to start over from the guard. Part sardonic musing and part defiance, Schiele titled this piece to show that the guard’s intention of breaking his spirit was misguided because the cleaning process gave Schiele “equilibrium”. This watercolor, with its relatively representational depiction of the corridor outside Schiele’s cell, serves as a record of the experience.

For My Art and for My Loved Ones I Will Gladly Endure to the End!

In “For My Art and for My Loved Ones I Will Gladly Endure to the End!”, Schiele appears in the same blanket that gave him comfort in “The Single Orange Was the Only Light”. In this watercolor, however, Schiele appears stifled and restrained by the blanket, which represents his suffering in prison. The increased use of value while still showing restraint in color use reflects a growing acceptance of his emotional state. While before Schiele was intent on remaining stoic and not being affected by his situation, at this point he had begun to give in to the temporary defeat of his imprisonment. Still, the title reflects a sense of determination and optimism that he would one day be released and continue his work.