Town among Greenery (The Old City III)

Beginning in the summer of 1910, Schiele made several trips to Krumau (today Česky Krumlov, Czech Republic), his mother's birthplace in Bohemia on the Moldau River. Schiele gravitated toward highpoints on the outskirts of town where he could look down and have a bird's-eye-view of the city and its inhabitants. His rapturous painting, Town among Greenery (The Old City III), is depicted from such a vantage point. While the exact location of this scene is unclear, it most likely represents an imaginative and composite creation based upon Schiele's study of Krumau and its environs. Here, the city is sandwiched between dense and verdant clusters of trees. Uncharacteristically, Schiele has populated the vibrantly hued streets with figures immersed in the details of daily life. This picturesque Renaissance town with distinctive interlocking buildings and historic structures captivated him, and it was a favored subject in his work. Notably, the frame is original to the painting.