!!!Gotik
Gothic: In Austria the transition from Romanesque to the Gothic period
proceeded gradually from the early 13%%sup th/% century onwards.
Mediators of the new style and ideals that had been developed in
Western and Central Europe were the rulers and religious orders. In
due course stylistic elements of Gothic art were also increasingly
adopted in secular art.
\\
The earliest evidence of the transition from Late Romanesque to Gothic
is found in the cloisters of the Lower Austrian Cistercian monasteries
of Zwettl, Heiligenkreuz and Lilienfeld. In Lilienfeld the early
Gothic chancel was begun in 1202 and it was here that the typically
Austrian hall-type churches with a nave and aisles of equal height had
their origin, a design principle that was also adopted at
Heiligenkreuz (around 1294) and Zwettl (after 1330). The Capella
Speciosa at Klosterneuburg, which has not been preserved, was
consecrated in 1222.
\\
A special form - the oldest two-aisled hall church in Austria - is
still extant in the former Dominican Church of Imbach, Lower Austria
(before 1285).
\\
Another construction principle - church ground-plans with a long choir
- was developed by the mendicant orders (e.g. the Minorite Church at
Bruck an der Mur, the Dominican Churches at Krems (Lower Austria) and
Friesach (Carinthia)).
\\
At St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna the three-aisled Albertinian
Chancel was built in 1304-1340 under the influence of the hall-type
chancel of Heiligenkreuz and mendicant architecture. The workshop of
St. Stephen's played an important part in developing and
propagating Austrian Gothic architecture. About 100 years later,
around 1439-1455, H. Puchsbaum created another exemplary architectural
form, the "staggered church" as typified by the nave of
St. Stephen´s.
\\
In the late Gothic period architecture was increasingly regionalised,
and the western parts of the country received major impulses from
neighbouring Bavaria. Important structures in western Austria are the
churches of Braunau, Pischelsdorf and Eggelsberg as well as the
Franciscan Church in the city of Salzburg. One of the chief products
of late Gothic is the four-aisled parish church of Schwaz in Tirol.
\\
Vault and rib patterns became more and more manifold and sophisticated
around 1500, when their structural importance was gradually hidden by
playful decorative effects. Outstanding examples of this development
are found in Lower and Upper Austria (Weistrach, Krenstetten,
St. Peter in der Au, St. Valentin, Koenigswiesen,
Freistadt).
\\
A Carinthian speciality is found in the parish church of Koetschach
(1518-1527), where the vault is covered with a dense network of
tendril-shaped ribs. This decorative character of Gothic architecture
persisted well into the 16%%sup th/% century, particularly in the
Alpine regions.
\\
The stylistic developments in religious architecture were parallelled
by similar trends in secular buildings. Profane buildings of artistic
value include the Gozzoburg castle and the Goeglerker oriel in Krems,
the "Bummerlhaus" residence in Steyr, the "Goldenes Dachl"
oriel in Innsbruck, the "Kornmesser" house in Bruck an der Mur as well
as many Gothic arcaded courtyards. Relatively well-preserved Gothic
squares are found in Waidhofen an der Ybbs, Melk and Steyr,
fortifications at Hainburg, Krems-Stein, Enns and Radstadt. Gothic
castles have been preserved at Heidenreichstein, Strechau, Lockenhaus,
Tratzberg and Hall in Tirol as well as Millstatt (Grandmaster's
Palace).
\\
Gothic sculpture largely remained closely linked with architecture
(sculpted portals, tympana with reliefs, columnar statues). The
reliefs on the Singertor and Bischofstor portals (1370/80) of
St. Stephen's in Vienna are among the most important works of
Gothic sculpture in Austria. Along with these works of art, numerous
individual statues of superb quality were sculpted, such as the
Klosterneuburg Virgin (late 13%%sup th/% century), the
Dienstbotenmadonna (Servants' Virgin, 1320/25) in St. Stephen's
in Vienna as well as columnar statues in the chancel and donor's
statues on the side-portal walls of St. Stephen´s.
\\
Around 1400 sculptures became more and more graceful, sophisticated
and at the same time more realistic, a development known as
International Style The leading artists of this period were men like
Hans von Judenburg and the Master of Grosslobming.
\\
The best-known sculptures representative of the International Style
(in German often referred to as "Weicher Stil") are the pietà
(representation of the Virgin Mary mourning over the dead body of
Christ) and the "Schoene Madonnen", statues of the Virgin
Mary, whose specific characteristics are foremost in specimens from
Bohemia (e.g. the "Krumau Virgin" in the Kunsthistorisches
Museum in Vienna) and Salzburg.
\\
Around 1420/30 the formal characteristics of Gothic sculpture became
harder and more austere. The elegant, courtly, soft expressiveness of
the previous period gave way to a more realistic approach and heavier,
thickset, block-like shapes. This "Heavy Style", as it was called, had
one of its centres at the Court in Vienna.
\\
A central theme of Gothic sculpture was the decoration of tombs.
Principal works of the late 15%%sup th/% century are the Tomb of
Friedrich III in St. Stephen´s, Vienna, and the
sculpted slab of the tomb of Empress Eleonore at Wiener Neustadt (both
by Niclas Gerhaert van Leyden) and the tomb of Archbishop Leonhard von
Keutschach at the Hohensalzburg fortress.
\\
After Niclas Gerhaert and the influx of western ideas around 1470
Austrian sculptural style underwent major changes. The thickset, heavy
shapes of the middle of the century were soon replaced with a lively
style that embraced spatial movement and sought to envelop
three-dimensional space.
\\
As it absorbed and developed these influences, Austrian sculpture
during the late phase of the Gothic period assumed a leading role in
Europe, particularly in the field of richly sculpted wooden Winged
Altars (peak 1470-1520), of which some 200 were created during that
period.
\\
Closely connected with architecture and sculpture were interior
furnishings and furniture for both religious and secular buildings
(choir stalls, pulpits, wooden ceilings, etc.). Other aspects of
decorative art (textiles, glassware, ceramics) are also worth
mentioning.
\\
Gothic painting came into its own particularly in the form of panel
painting, since Gothic building principles offered few extensive wall
surfaces that could have accommodated frescoes. Nevertheless numerous
important Gothic frescoes were still created in Alpine regions, such
as the frescoes at Gurk (Cathedral portico), St. Paul im
Lavanttal, Bruck an der Mur und Millstatt. Secular frescoes are fairly
frequent in South Tirol (for instance at Runkelstein castle). Other
significant frescoes include those by Neidhart in Vienna (ca. 1400).
\\
In Carinthia and some parts of Styria, some of the smaller rural
churches feature flat wooden painted ceilings. Another speciality are
the Lenten Veils.
\\
Numerous specimens of Gothic Stained Glass are still extant in
Austria, as are important products of Book Illumination, a tradition
cultivated in monastic painting schools.
\\
Gothic panel painting produced its first highlights in Austria in the
early 14%%sup th/% century (e.g. the external panels of the Verdun
Altar at Klosterneuburg, 1330/31). The portrait of Duke Rudolf IV
(around 1365) was the first Gothic portrait made in Austria. It
is now exhibited in the Diocesan Museum in Vienna. Austrian panel
painting came into its own after 1400 under the influence of painters
in Southern Germany and Bohemia.
\\
Most of the artists of the early 15%%sup th/% century are not known
by name. Leading painters named after their principal works included
the Meister der Darbringung, the Meister der Anbetung, the Meister des
Albrechtsaltars and the Meister der St. Lambrechter Votivtafel.
The most outstanding mid-15%%sup th/% century representative of
Gothic painting in Salzburg was Conrad Laib, who was already inspired
by the painting tradition of Northern Italy. The late 15%%sup th/%
century was marked by outstanding artists and their workshops, such as
the Meister des Schottenaltars, M. and F. Pacher, R. Frueauf the Elder
and J. Breu the Elder.
\\
Spatial representation and landscapes gradually superseded the
traditional gold leaf backgrounds. In the persons of R. Frueauf the
Younger and W. Huber, who created the first landscape paintings in
their own right, Austria produced two of the most important painters
of the Danube Schoolperiod. Their style prevailed up to 1510/20, thus
marking the transition to early Renaissance.
!Literature
W. Buchowiecki, Die gotischen Kirchen Oesterreichs, 1952;
R. Feuchtmueller and W. Mrazek, Gotik in Oesterreich, 1961; Die Kunst
der Donauschule, exhibition catalogue St. Florian and Linz, 1965;
Friedrich III, exhibition catalogue, Wiener Neustadt 1966; Gotik
in Oesterreich, exhibition catalogue, Krems 1967; Kaerntner Kunst des
Mittelalters, exhibition catalogue, Vienna and Klagenfurt 1970/71;
Spaetgotik in Salzburg - Die Malerei 1400-1530, exhibition catalogue,
Salzburg 1972; Spaetgotik in Tirol, exhibition catalogue, Vienna 1973;
Spaetgotik in Salzburg, exhibition catalogue, Salzburg 1976; Wien im
Mittelalter, exhibition catalogue, Vienna 1976; Gotik in der
Steiermark exhibition catalogue, St. Lambrecht (Styria) 1978; Die
Zeit der fruehen Habsburger, exhibition catalogue, 1979; G. Brucher,
Gotische Baukunst in Oesterreich, 1990; G. Schmidt, Gotische Bildwerke
und ihre Meister, 2 vols., 1992.
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