The artwork titled “Autumn Sun I (Rising Sun)” was created by Egon Schiele in 1912. This painting, executed in oil on canvas, is an exemplar of the Expressionist movement. It measures 80.2 by 80.5 cm and belongs to the landscape genre. Presently, the artwork is held in a private collection.
In “Autumn Sun I (Rising Sun)”, the viewer is presented with a stark and stylized scene characteristic of Schiele’s unique take on Expressionism. Two prominent trees dominate the landscape, their trunks and branches rendered with pronounced, dark outlines that signify Schiele’s focus on form and contour. The tree on the left is more fully adorned with leaves, depicted in autumnal hues that suggest the changing season. The foliage is not detailed but rather suggested through dabs of color, creating an impressionistic effect.
The background is marked by bands of pale, muted tones that evoke a hilly landscape receding into the distance. At the heart of the composition, a luminous sun emits soft rays, symbolizing perhaps the clarity and chill of an autumn morning. Significantly, the human touch is absent here, leaving the stage to nature alone. The use of color is restrained yet effective, with the trees’ foliage and the sparsely scattered flowers at their base providing the only vivid notes in a largely subdued palette.
The composition achieves a sense of harmony and stillness, capturing a moment of natural beauty in which time seems to stand still. The diagonal lines of the hill, combined with the vertical lines of the trees, give the artwork a dynamic tension and a sense of depth, despite the minimal detailing in the landscape. In the tradition of Expressionism, the emotional experience of the landscape is prioritized over a realistic depiction, inviting contemplation on the ephemeral qualities of light and season.
