Artwork
Crescent of Houses (The small City V)
Crescent of Houses (The small City V) is an oil painting by Egon Schiele. It dates from 1915 and is held in the collection of the Israel Museum.
About this work
Overview
Crescent of Houses (The small City V) is an oil painting executed by Egon Schiele in 1915. The work is part of the collection of the Israel Museum, where it is displayed among the museum’s early‑twentieth‑century European holdings.
Subject & Meaning
The canvas depicts a tightly packed group of modest dwellings, their brown roofs and yellow walls overlapping in a compact arrangement. Set against a darkened backdrop, the structures appear to tilt toward one another, suggesting a communal intimacy or shared interior life within the urban cluster.
Technique & Style
Schiele employs pronounced, angular lines and a limited yet vivid palette to convey movement within the static scene. The brushwork emphasizes the texture of the walls and roofs, while the stark contrast between the bright façades and the somber background heightens the visual tension.
History & Provenance
Created during the turbulent years of World War I, the painting later entered the Israel Museum’s collection, where it remains. Its acquisition reflects the museum’s focus on acquiring representative works by key Austrian modernists of the early twentieth century.
Artist & collection
Artist
Egon Leo Adolf Ludwig Schiele (German: ; 12 June 1890 – 31 October 1918) was an Austrian Expressionist painter.
