Ok. I'll admit it. I'm addicted to museums and galleries. Especially when the Albertina is advertising Monet. I have also decided that a) Viennese galleries are expensive and b) the audio guide is always worth the extra money.
Ironically, having lured me in with promises of Monet, there were only 2 of them, but I did learn about the differences between impressionism, Neo-impressionism, and Fauvism. I also wandered through the State apartments, and enjoyed some beautiful rooms. There were some Durer prints on the walls but I discovered they were facsimiles; the originals being too precious to display except under special conditions. The best exhibition though did contain some genuine Durer. It was focused on Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and owner of a genuine Hapsburg nose. All paintings of him are in profile or 3/4 so the nose can be clearly seen! Before I went through the exhibition I knew nothing about Maximilian, little about the Hapsburgs and virtually nothing about the Holy Roman Empire. I'm certainly not an expert now, but I can place all of them geographically and historically and I'm beginning to sort out the links between all the families and countries throughout Europe. I really like exhibitions which can take a person who has no background and engage them in the world of the exhibits.
I was going to suggest that you skip this paragraph if history is not your thing, but actually Maximilian would fit perfectly into the 21st century because he was all about carefully creating an identity for himself which would last for posterity. He had family trees created that linked him to King Arthur, Charlemagne and ancient Romans. His family were new to the position so he wanted to be seen as the natural successors. In his marriage he managed to acquire the Burgundy empire as well, and through marriage his heirs controlled the Spain kingdoms. He acquired items of wealth and drove his family nearly bankrupt. He wanted to be seen as a Chivalric knight, so he wrote two books about a knightly hero (himself thinly disguised), got leading artists to illustrate them, then had them published. He lived at a time when publishing was just getting off the ground and he used it for political propaganda. He wanted to create a huge triumphal arch, like the Romans, but couldn't afford it, so he got Durer to design one using woodcuts, then had copies printed off and sent to the important cities so each would have one. It was the size of a wall in one of our houses, not a small print. Actually it reminded me, in its purpose, of all those pictures of Queen Elizabeth II in her Coronation robes which were popular in Council buildings and other places from the 50s. The most extraordinary propaganda though, was a massive frieze depicting a triumphal march. They only have half of it still and that was spread along the wall, the whole thing was 54 metres long The march never happened, but that didn't stop Maximilian having the image of it created. There were heralds, horsemen bearing banners from every region, men carrying huge busts of all of his famous ancestors, including King Arthur, soldiers, military equipment, which was apparently correctly pictured, carts carrying liturgical treasure (which was not real, but gave the impression of vast wealth), all the noblemen bearing their coats of arms and a huge carriage carrying Maximilian, his mother (who had died many years before!), his two wives (one had died), his two children and their partners and his grandchildren. Behind all of this were Indians (I'm not sure where they fitted in) and then the common people in a bit of a ragtag at the end. He planned it as a frieze to go around public buildings.
For all of that he was apparently a very good leader, an excellent horseman and soldier, and spent much of his time riding around fighting battles, preventing the Turks from conquering the country. He wanted to embody the idea of the Chivalrous knight, and competed in Tourneys and other knightly activities. They also had one of his suits of armour on display - a 'for show' one, not something he would have fought in.
The whole exhibition was fascinating.
Ironically, having lured me in with promises of Monet, there were only 2 of them, but I did learn about the differences between impressionism, Neo-impressionism, and Fauvism. I also wandered through the State apartments, and enjoyed some beautiful rooms. There were some Durer prints on the walls but I discovered they were facsimiles; the originals being too precious to display except under special conditions. The best exhibition though did contain some genuine Durer. It was focused on Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and owner of a genuine Hapsburg nose. All paintings of him are in profile or 3/4 so the nose can be clearly seen! Before I went through the exhibition I knew nothing about Maximilian, little about the Hapsburgs and virtually nothing about the Holy Roman Empire. I'm certainly not an expert now, but I can place all of them geographically and historically and I'm beginning to sort out the links between all the families and countries throughout Europe. I really like exhibitions which can take a person who has no background and engage them in the world of the exhibits.
I was going to suggest that you skip this paragraph if history is not your thing, but actually Maximilian would fit perfectly into the 21st century because he was all about carefully creating an identity for himself which would last for posterity. He had family trees created that linked him to King Arthur, Charlemagne and ancient Romans. His family were new to the position so he wanted to be seen as the natural successors. In his marriage he managed to acquire the Burgundy empire as well, and through marriage his heirs controlled the Spain kingdoms. He acquired items of wealth and drove his family nearly bankrupt. He wanted to be seen as a Chivalric knight, so he wrote two books about a knightly hero (himself thinly disguised), got leading artists to illustrate them, then had them published. He lived at a time when publishing was just getting off the ground and he used it for political propaganda. He wanted to create a huge triumphal arch, like the Romans, but couldn't afford it, so he got Durer to design one using woodcuts, then had copies printed off and sent to the important cities so each would have one. It was the size of a wall in one of our houses, not a small print. Actually it reminded me, in its purpose, of all those pictures of Queen Elizabeth II in her Coronation robes which were popular in Council buildings and other places from the 50s. The most extraordinary propaganda though, was a massive frieze depicting a triumphal march. They only have half of it still and that was spread along the wall, the whole thing was 54 metres long The march never happened, but that didn't stop Maximilian having the image of it created. There were heralds, horsemen bearing banners from every region, men carrying huge busts of all of his famous ancestors, including King Arthur, soldiers, military equipment, which was apparently correctly pictured, carts carrying liturgical treasure (which was not real, but gave the impression of vast wealth), all the noblemen bearing their coats of arms and a huge carriage carrying Maximilian, his mother (who had died many years before!), his two wives (one had died), his two children and their partners and his grandchildren. Behind all of this were Indians (I'm not sure where they fitted in) and then the common people in a bit of a ragtag at the end. He planned it as a frieze to go around public buildings.
For all of that he was apparently a very good leader, an excellent horseman and soldier, and spent much of his time riding around fighting battles, preventing the Turks from conquering the country. He wanted to embody the idea of the Chivalrous knight, and competed in Tourneys and other knightly activities. They also had one of his suits of armour on display - a 'for show' one, not something he would have fought in.
The whole exhibition was fascinating.
No comments:
Post a Comment