Curator’s Choice: 300 years Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach (1656–1723)
Architect, sculptor and medalist of the Austrian Baroque
Fischer von Erlach is one of the most important Baroque architects in Europe. In his elaborate and decorative designs, he combined elements from different historical styles in the sense of a Gesamtkunstwerk. The Church of St. Charles, the Court Library (today the National Library), the Court Stables (today the Museumsquartier) and the palace complex of Schönbrunn are just a few of his most famous magnificent buildings for Vienna. Fischer always worked with sculptors from his circle to realize his elaborate projects. He is also the author of the influential architectural treatise “Entwurff einer Historischen Architektur” (1721). In it he documents and stages the history of architecture; the work was to serve as a guide for the master builders of his time, also with regard to Habsburg representation in various facets. In addition, his buildings were later immortalized in gold and silver medals by other medalists for the glory of their patrons.
In addition to his work as an architect, Fischer still tried his hand as a medalist at the beginning of his artistic career in the late 1670s. Two bronze cast medals commissioned for the Spanish ambassador to the Pope in Rome bear witness to this.
We know of a few portraits of Fischer himself, including a prominent depiction in the ceiling painting by Julius Victor Berger in the “Golden Hall” of the Kunstkammer in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and in a medal made by one of his students - Bengt (Benedikt) Richter - around 1719.
On the occasion of the anniversary year 2023, a showcase in the Coin Cabinet is dedicated to the medals of Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach as part of the exhibition series Curator's Choice.
On view until November 30, 2023.
