!!!Barock

Baroque: The term Baroque was originally used in the history of art, 
and later also in cultural history, to denote a European style of the 
17th and 18th centuries characterised by a strong element of display 
and pomp. In the fine arts, the period is initially marked by a 
predominance of architecture, which subsequently tended to merge with 
painting and sculpture to form a gesamtkunstwerk ("total work of 
art") frequently with considerable theatrical effect. In Austria, 
the period after the Counter-Reformation saw a first flowering of 
court culture in all the disciplines of art under the highly musical 
and artistically-minded emperors Leopold I, Joseph I and 
Karl VI. Austrian Baroque architecture in the 17th century 
predominantly manifested itself in religious buildings and was greatly 
influenced by artists of Italian origin. The principal creations of 
that period were the cathedral of Salzburg by S. Solari, the Mausoleum 
of Ferdinand II in Graz by P. de Pomis, various buildings by F. 
Lucchese (façade of the church Am Hof and the Leopoldinischer 
Trakt wing of the Hofburg in Vienna), as well as by C. A. Carlone 
(St. Florian) and V. D. Martinelli (Liechtenstein Garden 
Palace). A special place was occupied by Baroque church builders 
belonging to the School of Vorarlberg with the Beer, Kuen, Thumb and 
Moosbrugger families of master-builders, who worked in the Austrian 
Forelands, Switzerland and Southern Germany well into the 18th 
century. As well as itinerant artists from abroad a number of Austrian 
artists were entrusted with decorating and furnishing all these 
buildings, but they did not yet rise to the height of the achievements 
of their Italian and Dutch models. The development of the arts in 
Austria and in particular in Vienna, the Imperial residence, was 
characterised by the wave of building activity that set in after the 
end of the Second Siege of Vienna by the Turks in 1683, when 
centuries-old hostilities came to an end and large tracts of land were 
gained for the Austrian empire. In the decades that followed, 
J. B. Fischer von Erlach and L. von Hildebrandt became the chief 
architects of the High Baroque. Before the backdrop of political 
rivalry with France and its roi soleil, Louis XIV, the countries 
competed with one another for excellence in the arts, and Austria 
produced such achievements as Fischer von Erlach's plans for 
Schoenbrunn Palace and Hildebrandt's buildings for Prince 
Eugène of Savoy. These architects and their assistants and 
disciples set the tone for architectural work up to the mid-18th 
century, not only in respect of edifices erected for nobility, but 
also for the church, the towns and the bourgeoisie. J. Prandtauer 
stands out as the architect of major monasteries in Austria (Melk and 
others), to be followed by J. Munggenast and J. M. Prunner. The 
second half of the century was frequently marked by a Classicist 
undertone and given to structural modifications of older buildings 
which typically resulted in architectural activity all but coming to a 
standstill. The era of Maria Theresia is generally seen as the period 
of Late Baroque and the transition to Rococo and Classicism and 
Historicism (N. Jadot and N. Pacassi).

\\
The most prominent characteristic of Baroque painting is to be seen in 
wall and ceiling decoration. Starting with Andrea Pozzo, a typically 
Austrian tradition of fresco painting developed in all parts of 
Austria, from such artists as J. M. Rottmayr and D. Gran to B. 
Altomonte and numerous followers. They found a rich field of activity 
in religious buildings, where they propagated and glorified the aims 
of the Counter-Reformation, and in the construction of palaces for 
nobility, where they paid tribute to the world of the rulers in 
allegorical and mythological paintings. F. A. Maulbertsch, the 
leading painter of the second half of the 18th century, continued this 
tradition, while the true-to-nature style of landscape painting of 
J. C. Brand already heralded the art of the 19th century. 18th 
century Baroque sculpture in Austria reached its zenith in the works 
of G. R. Donner. Other sculptors adhered either to the tradition 
of the court (M. Zuern the Younger) or pursued a more alpine-rustic 
direction (T. Schwanthaler). Typically, the spirit of the Baroque 
permeated all forms of art and all of the Austrian territories, from 
Imperial palaces to rustic architecture, from festive decorations of 
the High Baroque to rural decorative arts. In this sense the Baroque 
has had a more decisive and lasting effect on Austria's artistic and 
cultural landscape than any other style.

!Literature
O. Redlich, Kunst und Kultur des Barock in Oesterreich, 
Archiv fuer oesterreichische Geschichte 115, 1943; K. 
Garzarolli-Thurnlack, Oesterreichische Barock-Malerei, 1949; B. 
Grimschitz, R. Feuchtmueller and W. Mrazek, Barock in Oesterreich, 
1965; Das barocke Wien, exhibition catalogue, Historisches Museum der 
Stadt Wien 1966; E. Neubauer, Lustgaerten des Barock, 1966; Groteskes 
Barock, exhibition catalogue, Altenburg 1975; F. Endler, Wien im 
Barock, 1979; G. Brucher, Barock-Architektur in Oesterreich, 1983; K. 
Gutkas (ed.), Prinz Eugen und das barocke Oesterreich 1985 (with 
bibliography by H. Leitgeb); Welt des Barock, exhibition catalogue, 
St. Florian 1986; G. Brucher (ed.), Die Kunst des Barock in 
Oesterreich, 1994.


%%language
[Back to the Austrian Version|AEIOU/Barock|class='wikipage austrian']
%%

[{FreezeArticle author='AEIOU' template='Lexikon_1995_englisch'}]
[{ALLOW view All}][{ALLOW comment All}][{ALLOW edit FreezeAdmin}]