On October 28, 1918, Edith Schiele died in Vienna. She was six months pregnant. Three days later, on October 31, her husband Egon Schiele died in the same city. He was 28.
Egon Schiele died on October 31, 1918, in Vienna, at age 28, of the 1918 influenza pandemic, commonly called the Spanish flu. His wife Edith, six months pregnant, had died of the same disease three days earlier, on October 28.
The pandemic that swept Vienna
The autumn of 1918 brought the deadliest wave of the influenza pandemic to Vienna. The city was exhausted by four years of war, and the disease moved through it fast.
The Schieles were among its victims. Edith fell ill first.
She died on October 28, 1918. She and Egon had married in 1915, and she was carrying their first child.
Three days
Schiele was already sick when Edith died. He survived her by exactly three days.
During those final days, he made a last drawing of Edith as she lay dying. It is the final image he ever made of her.
He died on October 31, 1918. He was 28 years old.
What Vienna lost that year
Schiele's death closed a brutal year for Viennese art. In February 1918, Gustav Klimt, his mentor and closest influence, had died from a stroke complicated by the same flu pandemic.
Within a span of months, Vienna lost both of its major painters. One was 55. The other was 28.
Klimt had championed Schiele early, and the younger artist had spent 1918 stepping into his place. He never got to hold it.
What he left behind
Schiele's career lasted barely a decade. In that time he produced roughly 300 paintings and thousands of works on paper.
The numbers matter because of the age. Almost everything Schiele made, he made before turning 29.
His last painting was still unfinished when he died. It is known as "The Family," and an earlier version was called "Crouching Couple."
It shows a man, a woman, and a child together. Given that Edith was six months pregnant when she died, the painting is often read in connection to the child the couple was expecting and never had.
FAQ
How old was Egon Schiele when he died? He was 28. He died on October 31, 1918, in Vienna.
What did Egon Schiele die of? He died of the 1918 influenza pandemic, commonly called the Spanish flu, during the deadly autumn wave that hit Vienna in October 1918.
How did Edith Schiele die? Edith Schiele died of the same influenza pandemic on October 28, 1918, three days before her husband. She was six months pregnant with their first child.
What was Egon Schiele's last work? His last painting, left unfinished, is known as "The Family." An earlier version was called "Crouching Couple." It depicts a man, a woman, and a child. His last drawing was of Edith as she lay dying.
Did Gustav Klimt die the same year? Yes. Klimt, Schiele's mentor, died in February 1918 from a stroke complicated by the same flu pandemic. Vienna lost both painters within months.
Schiele's unfinished last painting, "The Family," shows a man, a pregnant woman, and a child. Edith was six months pregnant when she died. The child in the painting, like the one she was carrying, was never born.