This dataviz shows two itineraries: that of the paintings "Offenbarung" by Egon Schiele (on the top) and, connected to it, that of Richard Lanyi, who owned the artwork before being deported and murdered by Nazis in the Holocaust.
Below is the code to run in Google Colab
https://colab.research.google.com/drive/10eMNAVfg_v9t3ndttibBNzh2U1iKYl_a?usp=sharing
This Google Colab notebook will create a data visualization based on the provenance information published by the Austrian Commission at https://web.archive.org/web/20220703142133/https://www.bmkoes.gv.at/dam/jcr:2d092829-c6e9-43ae-9073-f8d77cb1d219/dossier_lanyi.pdf
You can replace the data in this file with your own data and run it.
(The python code was created by ChatGPT4O after a conversation involving a dozen iterative prompts.)
---
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import networkx as nx
import textwrap
from google.colab import files # Import files module for download
# Function to wrap text labels for better readability
def wrap_labels(labels, width=12):
return {k: "\n".join(textwrap.wrap(v, width)) for k, v in labels.items()}
# Define the ownership timeline of the artwork
ownerships = [
("Egon Schiele", "Dr. Hermann Engel"),
("Dr. Hermann Engel", "Richard Lanyi"),
("Richard Lanyi", "Hans Zernatto"),
("Hans Zernatto", "LB (Hans Zernatto's daughter)"),
("LB (Hans Zernatto's daughter)", "Rudolf Leopold"),
("Rudolf Leopold", "Leopold Museum")
]
# Define Richard Lanyi's persecution itinerary
lanyi_itinerary = [
("Richard Lanyi", "Nazi Targeting (1938)"),
("Nazi Targeting (1938)", "Bookstore Shut Down (1938)"),
("Bookstore Shut Down (1938)", "Johannes Katzler Takes Over (1938)"),
("Johannes Katzler Takes Over (1938)", "Financial Constraints (1938-1942)"),
("Financial Constraints (1938-1942)", "Gestapo Arrest (1942)"),
("Gestapo Arrest (1942)", "Deportation to Auschwitz (1942)"),
("Deportation to Auschwitz (1942)", "Murdered in Auschwitz (1942)")
]
# Define timeline years
timeline_years = [1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, 1960]
# Positioning nodes: Artwork ownership above, Lanyi's path below
owner_positions = {
"Egon Schiele": (1910, 2),
"Dr. Hermann Engel": (1920, 2),
"Richard Lanyi": (1930, 2),
"Hans Zernatto": (1940, 2),
"LB (Hans Zernatto's daughter)": (1950, 2),
"Rudolf Leopold": (1960, 2),
"Leopold Museum": (1970, 2)
}
# Adjusted Y positions for better readability and spacing of Lanyi's path
improved_lanyi_positions = {
"Nazi Targeting (1938)": (1938, -1),
"Bookstore Shut Down (1938)": (1938.5, -2),
"Johannes Katzler Takes Over (1938)": (1939, -3.2),
"Financial Constraints (1938-1942)": (1940, -4.5),
"Gestapo Arrest (1942)": (1942, -6),
"Deportation to Auschwitz (1942)": (1942.5, -7.5),
"Murdered in Auschwitz (1942)": (1943, -9)
}
# Merge both positions
positions = {**owner_positions, **improved_lanyi_positions}
# Wrap labels for better readability
wrapped_owner_labels = wrap_labels({node: node for node in owner_positions.keys()}, width=12)
wrapped_lanyi_labels = wrap_labels({node: node for node in improved_lanyi_positions.keys()}, width=20)
# Create graph
G = nx.DiGraph()
G.add_edges_from(ownerships, color="gray")
G.add_edges_from(lanyi_itinerary, color="darkred")
# Define edge colors
edge_colors = [G[u][v]['color'] for u, v in G.edges()]
# Create figure
plt.figure(figsize=(12, 12))
# Draw ownership path above the timeline
nx.draw_networkx_nodes(G, positions, nodelist=owner_positions.keys(), node_color="steelblue", node_size=3500, edgecolors="black")
nx.draw_networkx_edges(G, positions, edgelist=ownerships, edge_color="gray", arrows=True, width=2)
nx.draw_networkx_labels(G, positions, labels=wrapped_owner_labels, font_size=10, font_weight="bold", font_family="serif", font_color="white") # White text for better contrast
# Draw Lanyi's persecution path below the timeline with stronger visual impact
nx.draw_networkx_edges(G, positions, edgelist=lanyi_itinerary, edge_color="darkred", arrows=True, width=2.5, style="dashed")
# Display Lanyi’s persecution labels with bold emphasis
for node, (x, y) in improved_lanyi_positions.items():
plt.text(x, y, wrapped_lanyi_labels[node], fontsize=10, ha="center", fontweight="bold", color="darkred", fontfamily="serif")
# Draw the enhanced timeline with stronger markers
for year in timeline_years:
plt.scatter(year, 0, color="black", s=120) # Larger timeline markers
plt.text(year, 0.4, str(year), fontsize=11, ha="center", fontweight="bold", fontfamily="serif")
# Add dashed timeline line
plt.axhline(0, color="black", linestyle="dashed", linewidth=1.5)
# Title and annotations
plt.title("Itinerary of Egon Schiele's 'Offenbarung' (Above) and Richard Lanyi's Persecution (Below)",
fontsize=14, fontweight="bold", fontfamily="serif")
# Subtitle for context
plt.text(1925, 3, "Tracing the Fate of an Artwork and Its Jewish Collector", fontsize=12, fontweight="bold", color="black", fontfamily="serif")
# Final annotation to emphasize injustice
plt.text(1943, -10, "Richard Lanyi was murdered in Auschwitz in 1942.\nHis collection was lost to history.",
fontsize=11, fontweight="bold", color="darkred", fontfamily="serif", ha="center")
# Adjust display settings
plt.ylim(-10.5, 3.5) # Ensure spacing between sections
plt.xlim(1905, 1975)
plt.xticks([]) # Hide automatic ticks
# Save the figure to a file
filename = "Schiele_Offenbarung_Lanyi_Itinerary.png"
plt.savefig(filename, dpi=300, bbox_inches="tight")
# Show the plot
plt.show()
# Provide a download link for Google Colab users
files.download(filename)
