Egon-Schiele-Museum

The Egon-Schiele-Museum is a biographical museum for visual art in Tulln an der Donau, Lower Austria, dedicated to the Austrian painter Egon Schiele, who was born in the city in 1890. The institution serves as a center of expertise on the life and work of the artist, focusing on his living spaces in his birthplace and its surroundings, research into his biography and oeuvre, and changing presentations of original works. It holds particular significance for its focus on Schiele's early artistic development and his connections to his hometown and the broader region of Lower Austria.

Planning for a dedicated Egon Schiele museum began in 1980 when the municipality of Tulln acquired the dilapidated former district prison to house the institution, with the International Egon Schiele Society serving as the project's sponsor. From 1985 to 1990, the old prison building of the Tulln district court was renovated and adapted into a museum. The institution officially opened on June 12, 1990, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the artist's birth. In 2011, the museum was taken over by the Lower Austrian Museum Operating Company. Following renovation and redesign measures, the permanent exhibition was reopened in April 2011 under the title Egon Schiele: The Beginnings of the Artist. In October 2024, the museum received the Austrian Museum Quality Seal for the first time.

Since 2011, the artistic focus of the museum has centered on the epoch spanning Schiele's birth in 1890 to the founding of his own artist group, the Neukunstgruppe, in 1909. By concentrating on the beginnings of the artist, the museum fills a gap in the Austrian museum landscape, allowing the exhibition to be equipped exclusively with original works. The holdings include over 100 objects displayed across 12 rooms, encompassing 90 paintings and numerous drawings by the young artist, as well as many photographs of his life and his family. The works originate from the collections of the municipality of Tulln, the Museum of Lower Austria, and a private collection. Originally, works from the collection of Werner Gradisch, a grandnephew of Schiele, were also exhibited, but Gradisch withdrew them in 2015 following a dispute with the municipality. The museum also explores Schiele's relationships with his hometown and Lower Austria, as well as his passion for toy trains.

The ground floor presents pieces related to Schiele's childhood in Tulln, relics from his school time in Klosterneuburg, and items from his period as a student in Vienna. Among the notable paintings in the collection are Blick über verschneite Weingärten auf Klosterneuburg, painted in 1907, and the Old Mill from 1916. A specific treasury chamber dedicated to original works hosts annually changing chapters from the life of the artist. A historically preserved prison cell in the building was adapted to replicate the cell in the Neulengbach prison where Schiele was incarcerated for three weeks in 1912. Additionally, interviews conducted by art historian Alessandra Comini with Schiele's family and friends in the 1960s form the basis for the design of the museum's first floor, where augmented reality stations bring his creative phases to life accompanied by original voices.

The museum is situated near the Danube river, housed within the former district jail of Tulln, a structure originally built in 1898. The renovation process preserved and repurposed key architectural features, including an original prison cell which was modified to recreate Schiele's 1912 Neulengbach incarceration space. The upper floor of the building features a redesigned studio that is brighter and more open, made available to visitors for creative activities during events. The museum also maintains an external branch at the Tulln railway station, where Schiele's birth room and an adjacent room have been rented and furnished. The birth room is decorated with furniture matching the taste of the era, including curtains modeled after those seen in a photograph of the apartment of Schiele's uncle and guardian, Leopold Czihaczek. It houses the original tiled stove in which Schiele's father burned his shares during a fit of mental confusion, two marital beds with nightstands, a washstand, and family photographs. The adjacent room is dedicated to family members connected to the railway and contains a model railway with replicated trains from around 1890.

The Egon-Schiele-Museum is located in Tulln an der Donau, Austria, and has been operated by the Lower Austrian Museum Operating Company since 2011. The museum presents annual exhibitions of contemporary artists alongside its permanent displays. A research trail allows visitors to gain insights into Schiele scholarship, including the contributions of Diethard and Elisabeth Leopold to the creation of the world's largest Schiele collection. Each year, a special exhibition is organized around a different stage of Schiele's life, such as the 2024 exhibition focusing on the work of Schiele's artist friend Erwin Osen.