Imperial Impressions: The Emperors and their Court Artists
Yesterday's opening of the new special exhibition "Imperial Impressions - The Emperors and their Court Artists" in the Coin Cabinet and the Kunstkammer of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna is now focusing for the first time on artists who created artistic masterpieces in the courtly environment of the Habsburg (Lorraine) rulers in the form of medals and sculptural works.
The exhibition also focuses on the medal as an art object: medals are primarily collector's items, convey political messages or serve as an award for special achievements. But they also commemorate a person or a special occasion, such as a peace agreement, a marriage or an accession to the throne.
Over the centuries, from around 1500 to the end of the monarchy, such medals were also created in the Habsburgs' centers of power. The exhibition takes visitors to the courts in Madrid, Prague, Vienna and Innsbruck, where many of the artists worked as medalists. A corresponding position as a court artist brought many advantages and high reputation, as well as regular commissions and remuneration. 70 medals from 400 years are juxtaposed with individual works of sculpture and painting. These medals are now also fully recorded in IKMK! The high-resolution images offer the opportunity to study the finest details as precisely as possible and to view them in the original on site.
The exhibition concept follows artists who worked in different art forms. They were medalists, but also architects, painters, sculptors and goldsmiths. Their way of working changed over the centuries: In the Renaissance and Baroque, artists worked not only on medals but also on sculptures, paintings and small-format portrait reliefs. In later times they specialized entirely in medals and created magnificent metalwork.
The exhibition now offers a synopsis of these diverse masterpieces for the first time!
An in-depth publication (in german) accompanying the exhibition by curator Heinz Winter is now available in the museum shop!
