Fürstenglanz

Originally conceived as diplomatic gifts, the gallery albums on display may be considered forerunners of modern art and exhibition catalogues. The show presents splendid publications, portraits of princely patrons, from the French Sun King Louis XIV to the Austrian Reformist Emperor Joseph II, as well as first-rate paintings from exquisite collections. Thanks to the reconstruction of a 'Baroque hanging', which also serves as an atmospheric introduction to the exhibition theme, Prince Eugene's Winterpalais becomes an exhibit itself. The installation of the paintings is modelled on what was common practice in the picture galleries of aristocrats, abbeys, and monasteries in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as well as in the first museums in today's sense. Since the range of gallery pictures was limited, it was only through their dissemination in printed form that it became possible to take advantage of the rich propagandistic potential of picture galleries. As one of many highlights, the exhibition presents a lavishly illustrated work from 1660, the Theatrum Pictorium (Picture Theatre) by the Brussels court painter David Teniers. Exhibition: Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna, Austria (18.03.-26.06.2016).