The Belvedere: 300 Years a Venue for Art

Description

Anniversary publication of the Belvedere The Belvedere in Vienna epitomizes the changes that have taken place over the course of three centuries in the concept of what constitutes a museum. Originally built by Prince Eugene of Savoy to enhance his prestige as a prince, under Maria Theresa, the Upper Belvedere became one of the world’s first public museums. The idea of presenting Austrian art in an international context, which in 1903 motivated the establishment of the Modern Gallery in the Lower Belvedere, remains the key objective of this world-famous cultural institution. In this critical homage, renowned authors explore enduring questions that transcend the different epochs, such as : What ordering concepts are evident in art presentation ? How contemporary were these presentations in an international context ? What kind of public were they aimed at ? Anniversary publication of the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere: a critical homage to a place of art with a diverse history spanning centuries Exhibition until January 7, 2024 With contributions from Johanna Aufreiter, Björn Blauensteiner, Brigitte Borchhardt-Birbaumer, Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, Christiane Erharter, Nora Fischer, Anna Frasca-Rath, Antoinette Friedenthal, Martin Fritz, Thomas W. Gaehtgens, Sabine Grabner, Katinka Gratzer-Baumgärtner, Cäcilia Henrichs, Alice Hoppe-Harnoncourt, Christian Huemer, Georg Lechner, Stefan Lehner, Gernot Mayer, Monika Mayer, Sabine Plakolm-Forsthuber, Georg Plattner, Matthew Rampley, Luise Reitstätter, Stella Rollig, Claudia Slanar, Franz Smola, Nora Sternfeld, Silvia Tammaro, Wolfgang Ullrich, Leonhard Weidinger, Christian Witt-Dörring, Luisa Ziaja, and Christoph Zuschlag Contents Foreword Introduction Chapter I Prince Eugene of Savoy as an Impresario of Art 1697–1736 Images and Quotes 1 The Belvedere : Construction and Interiors 2 The Set of Engravings 3 The Marble Gallery Sculptures Patronage and Collecting in the Habsburg Empire c. 1700 4 The Winter Palace Prestige and Passion : Prince Eugene of Savoy’s Picture Collection at His Garden Palace Collect, Collate, Catalogue : Prince Eugene of Savoy and the Beauty of Classification 5 The Theresianum Library Cabinets from Prince Eugene’s Winter Palace Chapter II The Imperial Collections in the Belvedere 1776–1891 Images and Quotes 6 The Ambras Collection 7 The First Restoration Studio The Emergence of the Art Museum in the Eighteenth Century The Museumification of the Imperial Picture Gallery Opening and Public Access in the Upper Belvedere around 1800 8 The Exchange of Pictures between Florence and Vienna New Concepts for the Display of Painting Schools in the Early Nineteenth Century 9 Napoleonic Looting and Evacuation of Artworks The “Modern School” of the Imperial Picture Gallery 10 The Picture Gallery and the Academy of Fine Arts Chapter III From the Modern Gallery to the Austrian Gallery 1903–1938 Images and Quotes 11 A Kiss for the Modern Gallery Museums of Modern Art in the Late Habsburg Empire 12 The Imperial-Royal Traveling Museum A Palace as “Refuge” for Modernism 13 Hans Tietze’s Museum Reform Art for All ? The Austrian State Gallery between Art Appreciation and Education 14 From the Austrian State Gallery Society to the Friends of Austrian Museums in Vienna, 1911/12–1938 The Foundation of the Baroque Museum in the Lower Belvedere 15. The Ephesos Museum Visits the Lower Belvedere Origins of the Museum of Medieval Art Chapter IV The Museum during the Nazi Period 1938–1945 16 “Degenerate Art” Images and Quotes 17 The Reich Chamber of Fine Arts, Vienna Office 18 Deaccession The Complicity of Museums in National Socialist Cultural Policy The Austrian Gallery during the Nazi Period 19 Art Market and Auctions in Vienna 1938–45 National Socialist Art Policy in the Gau City of Vienna 20 The Gustav Klimt Exhibition of 1943 Chapter V Changes and Continuities After 1945 Images and Quotes 21 The “Vienna 1900” Brand 22 Mapping the Hood : The Belvedere Quarter “Our Modernism Is Homegrown !” Austria’s Delayed Reconnection with the International Avant-Garde after 1945 In Search of (a Place for) Contemporary Art The Programmatic Development from 1945 to the Present 23 The History of the Museum of the Twentieth Century / 20er Haus 24 Restitutions after 1945 and the 1998 Art Restitution Act 2000 to 2020 : Nineteen Years of Growth Critical Niches : Democratization Processes in the Belvedere’s Recent History 25 Expansions of the Museum into the Digital Space 26 Museum Self-Perceptions under the Microscope Perspectives 2023 STELLA ROLLIG in Conversation with WOLFGANG ULLRICH Appendices Chronology Visualization of the Collection Contents Bibliography Index of Names Authors Picture Credits Abbreviations Colophon