The work of Egon Schiele was thrown under a microscope Wednesday, April 4, by senior art history major Betty Lou Starnes. As part of the “Let’s Talk Art” lecture series, Starnes’ presentation consisted of her reading pieces from her capstone research paper on Schiele.
Starnes was introduced by art history professor Dr. Irene Nero, who in turn gave a quick synopsis of the lecture series and the requirements placed upon Starnes for the research paper.
“Our senior students in the art history concentration are usually working on their research for at least two semesters,” said Nero. “It’s too much information to deliver by just standing there and talking about it. This is a very professional methodology that we’re doing here today.”
Schiele was born in Austria to Adolph Schiele, a station master for the Austrian State Railways. Throughout his early life Schiele, who was the only male child in the family, saw his father as a polarizing figure, until his death in 1905 from syphilis.