Gustav Klimt auf dem Totenbett 1991

Egon Schiele sketched this portrait of Gustav Klimt on his deathbed in 1918. The gaunt face and vacant stare resonate with a historical lineage of death masks and effigies, intended to capture the essence of a person at their final moment. Consider the ancient Roman practice of creating death masks to preserve the likeness of prominent citizens, ensuring their continued presence in the collective memory. This impulse echoes through time, resurfacing in various forms, from the funerary sculptures of the Middle Ages to the photographic portraits of the deceased in the Victorian era. The hollowed eyes carry the weight of centuries of such depictions, tapping into a primal fear and fascination with mortality. Schiele's sketch is not merely a record of Klimt's passing, but a poignant reminder of our shared human destiny, the fleeting nature of life. This image becomes part of an ongoing cultural dialogue about death.