The artwork “House on a River (Old House I)” was created by the artist Egon Schiele in 1915 in Vienna, Austria. It is an oil on canvas painting that belongs to the Art Nouveau (Modern) movement. The artwork measures 109.5 x 140 cm and can be categorized as a cityscape due to its depiction of urban buildings.
The painting presents a relatively dense composition of an old house or possibly a cluster of houses by a river, as suggested by the mirrored reflection of the buildings on the lower part of the canvas. The use of color is subdued with a palette of earth tones punctuated by the bright whites and oranges of the laundry hanging on the line, which brings a certain vividness to the otherwise somber color scheme. Architectural details such as windows, roof shapes, and the textures on the walls are rendered with a distinct linearity that is characteristic of Schiele’s style, and there’s an overall impression of both detail and decay. The structure appears both sturdy and dilapidated, suggesting a narrative of history and wear. The perspective is slightly distorted, giving the viewer an uneasy sense of imbalance and creating a dreamlike or expressive atmosphere rather than a strictly realistic one.
