High in the Karlskirche

In which we get a great opportunity to see a Baroque masterpiece up close!

a moment in the dome of the Karlskirche, Vienna

During our most recent stay in Vienna, I met Karl Groissenberger and his gorgeous family for a quick visit.  Karl, a fine muralist and fellow ornamentalist, suggested I go see the Karlskirche, whose interior has just been completely restored.   Visitors were being allowed up a "Panormalift" to a scaffold which climbs to the very top of the 70 metre high dome.  Karl was really enthusiastic about it, so of course the very next day we went to see it.
In 1713, in celebration of the end of the Great Plague of Vienna, Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor,  pledged to build a church for his namesake patron saint, Charles Borromeo.  The prestigious  commission went to architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, and is widely considered the most outstanding baroque cathedral North of the Alps, and Fischer von Erlach's greatest achievement.

The design of the Karlskirche makes some reference to Roman architecture. photo by Gryffindor via Wikipedia

I have seen this church a number of times in the past, learned about the effect of its elongated ellipsoid dome, and the symbolic details of its architecture in art history class, enjoyed a view of it from the Secessionist Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station,  but I confess I had never been all that impressed with the interior before, maybe because it seemed so dull with age and filth; I just never thought much of it. 

scaffolding in the dome for visitor access

However, seeing it clean and sparkling after its 7 year restoration project,  I finally realized the joy and conviction that suffuses every aspect of its design.  It's bright and pink! It's light and lively!  It's like an Osterei made of sugar!  Not that I don't like to see the age of something, but in this case the intent of the artists needed to be seen in bright color.

The lower part of the interior is clad in beautiful stucmarmor,  a finish that uses a special pigmented plaster technique to mimic marble. In this case it's used to great advantage to make gorgeous rose marble pilasters which create a support for the action in the ceiling.

Are the angels holding up that upper scaffolding?  Let's hope so.

The interior of the enormous dome is painted with an exuberant fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayr (1656 –1730) who is perhaps most famous for his work in the enormous Abbey at Melk.   Rottmayr trained in Venice, and it shows.

Charity, one of the Virtues, as seen from the scaffold.

Now, you'd think after 25+ years of working on scaffold I could scamper up any old 200+ foot scaffold with ease, but I made it up the first two levels and then I remembered that acrophobia thing I have.  Erling and Juliet went all the way up into the lantern while I stayed frozen at about 180 feet.  Eventually I regained the use of my hands enough to operate the camera.

The quadratura architectural elements seem distorted when seen at eye level

Seen from inside the dome, the perspective of figures painted di sotto in sù makes them look oddly distorted. The same is true of the  architectural elements (painted by Gaetano Fauti) that frame the mural, which further enhance the feeling of height. 

Speaking of height, I met a couple from Holland climbing up the stairs. They wanted to know if I was ok. Dutch people are so nice.

gilt enhancements on a cartouche in the dome

I find fascinating the gilt highlights on the painted statuary.  In addition to the illusionistic painting that makes the urns and statues look like metal, they have tiny  highlights of gold leaf  which really enhance the effect and tend to appear and disappear as you move around.

no really, look how this is done!

I usually refer to this highlight as rehaussé (French for "enhanced")  or assiste (the tiny rays of gold in icon paintings),  but I am not sure of the Italian or German term for it.

Painting like this makes me squeal, sometimes audibly.

Counter-reformation churches weren't built just to be glorious.  In this mural is a warning to those protestant hooligans:

An angel sets fire to German bible and expels Martin Luther and the devil from the scene.

perspective is everything

I look forward to my next visit to Vienna and to seeing this fantastic ceiling mural in its entirety, from the floor. It will be that much more thrilling having seen the actual brushstrokes that created it.

trompe l'oeil detail in one of the oval windows

Virtual tour at the Karslkirche official website  

quadratura, di sotto in sù, rehaussé  
are all in the glossary! 




all photos by Lynne Rutter, Vienna, December 2012
unless otherwise noted


  

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Albertina Gold

The Goldkabinett of Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen

The Albertina Museum in Vienna is famous for its fine print collection and artworks on paper, notably those of Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt, but the former palace of Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen (1728-1822),  the noble art collector for whom the Albertina is named, is also worth visiting for its grand state rooms, which have been recently restored. 
Most of these rooms are decorated in an elegant Neoclassical style dating from the 1820s but there are one or two spaces that still sport the late Baroque décor of Duke Albert's era.  In particular this tiny chamber called the Goldkabinett "Gold Cabinet."

Goldkabinett at the Albertina, Vienna

I adore tiny jewel box rooms like this, and it seems to me that every Baroque palace or hôtel particulier just had to have one of these special, intimate, breathtaking little chambers.  A perfect spot for a private discussion,  collecting one's thoughts, or  just basking alone in the glow of a room created solely for the sake of beauty.

detail of the floral ornament painted onto the gilt paneling

The Goldkabinett is mirrored on four walls including the doors;  a marvelous effect for full gilt immersion; and features a some beautifully painted rose decorations along with a sweet little cloud ceiling mural and frieze panels with frolicking putti. 

The unusually rosy effulgence of this room is due to the special gold leaf used to gild it: an alloy consisting of 23-karat gold, 1/2-karat silver and 1/2-karat copper, and is still known today as "Albertina Gold."

large mirrors on each wall reflect more of the gilt splendor

More about the Albertina at Wikipedia
Another Golden Room

all images in this post by Lynne Rutter Vienna, 2012
click to view larger

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Wappensaal

Groß Wappensaal of the Landhaus Klagenfurt

The capital of the Austrian state of Carinthia, Klagenfurt boasts a splendid Landhaus, or "country house," built as the seat of the state government in its more feudal arrangement, and which now serves as the state house as well as a museum. It's famous for its magnificent Wappensaal (Hall of Arms), a must-see for heraldry geeks and ornamentalists alike.

The arms of the noble families of Carinthia painted on the walls of the Klagenfurt Landhaus Wappensaal.

The Landhaus and the Wappensaal date from the early 16th century but suffered a great fire in 1723. The building was remodeled in the Baroque style and the Hall redecorated by painter Josef Ferdinand Fromiller (1693-1760).  In addition to the grand Scheinarchitektur ceiling fresco and a pair of murals depicting important events in the founding of the Carinthian state, the walls are covered with over 650 coats of arms of all of the armigerous families of the region.  Some additions were made in later years all the way through the 19th century, with a few spaces left blank to honor extinct families whose crests could no longer be found.

Josef Ferdinand Fromiller's ceiling fresco features a brilliant quadratura colonnade  and portraits of himself and his sons in the corner.

The trompe l'oeil in this grand hall is elegantly painted,  and very effective. However the almost graphic pattern of arms emblazoning the walls is stunning both as decor and as a device for creating a sense of continuous history. Which is rather the point after all.

marquetry doors and surrounds made of black marble

The inlaid marble floor and baroque marble doorways were created by a Venetian master named Francesco Robba. The marquetry doors are also particularly fine.

After years of traveling together, Erling has now amassed a collection of photos of me taking photos. He is over there capturing me with his iPhone.

Kleiner Wappensaal  (1740), currently used as a conference room.

A smaller Wappensaal in the Landhaus was also painted in 1740 by Fromiller with a further 298 arms of Burgraves, Presidents, and Chancellors. This room is in use for conferences and has been modernized around the murals. The ceiling mural is entitled "Veritas Temporis Filia" (Truth is the Daughter of Time.) 

Is your conference room emblazoned with armorial splendor?  No?  Well maybe it should be.

For German and Austrian arms there is of course a great book (just as there exists for English and French arms) identifying each family and you can find this Wappenbuch online.   

I am reining myself in tremendously here because I can go on and on about heraldry and other rooms decorated in this way, and am bursting to do so, but I am going to have to save that for another time. 
Stay tuned for more from Austria coming up soon!


all photos in this post by Lynne Rutter, Klagenfurt, December 2012
click on images to view larger

 

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Rococo Rose

Klagenfurt Cathedral- side chapel

I'm off to Klagenfurt, Austria for the premier of the Maestro's latest.  Here is a sneak peak of the frothy confection of the cathedral there!

plaster ornament in Klagenfurt Cathedral

What is it about that perfect rose color used in Rococo interiors?  It's just  lovely.



photos by Lynne Rutter,  Klagenfurt, June 2011

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting 

Vienna on my mind

Interior of Peterskirche, Wien

In December the Maestro has a commission for the Klagenfurter Ensemble premiering on December 6.  Hmmm, what a lovely ulterior motive to have Christmas in Austria. Even better, one of my oldest friends is coming all the way from New Zealand to meet us there!
I'm looking forward to a great big shot of Baroque inspiration, with lots and lots of gold leaf...
So here are a couple of moments in the beautiful Peterskirche in Vienna.
 

anamorphic trompe l'oeil dome over the altar

This fabulous confection was designed by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt and features a dome and interior by Matthias Steinl filled with marble, stuc-marmor, painted faux marbre, carved figural pews, and plenty of gilding - as well as plenty of trompe l'oeil gilding. The painted decor and murals by Johann Michael Rottmayr replaced earlier efforts by Andrea Pozzo. (Can you can believe that?) 


photos in this post by Lynne Rutter, Vienna, 2007
click on images to view larger
more nice images of the Peterskirche
Uksus  Kammeroper von Erling Wold: opens December 6, 2012 in Klagenfurt, Austria

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Palais Ferstel, Vienna

restored ceiling boss and stenciling, Palais Ferstel, Vienna

While visiting Vienna in 1993 I spontaneously stumbled into a maze of arcades with beautiful groin vaults, 19th century ironwork skylights and some memorable stenciling. When I found my way out I jotted down the name of the building, Palais Harrach.

shopping arcade in the former Palais Ferstel

This was not entirely accurate. On a more recent visit I sought out the newly restored Cafe Central and found myself wandering around a 19th century villa that had been beautifully decorated and converted to a commercial space, and found that this romantic revival gem was indeed the Palais Ferstel. The palace was designed in the 1860s by architect Heinrich von Ferstel, inspired by his many travels in Italy. It became a bank and stock exchange, and like many buildings in Vienna, was badly damaged in WWII. In the 1980s it was completely renovated and now houses elegant shops and galleries, and features a fabulous ballroom for events. It's sort of rafted together with the lower level of the baroque Palais Harrach, and  these passages makes a nice little detour through the Freyung area.  

detail from the Palais Ferstel vaulted ceilings

This ornament is very interesting to me because though it follows all the rules and placement of Gothic ornament, it seems to me neither Gothic nor Italian in style or color, which I suppose is often the case in revival styles. Nevertheless the repetition of the ivy leaf motif in so many of the painted  borders and the cohesive scheme of olive, plum, and ochre makes for a nice atmosphere.

You can find more photos of this lovely place by searching on flickr.

all photos in this post by Lynne Rutter, Vienna, 2008
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Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Musing

A splendid corner bit, from a ceiling at the MAK, Vienna. 

 photo by Lynne Rutter, Vienna, Austria 2008
click on image to view much larger.

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

The Fabulous Peacock Parlor of Mr. Clem Labine

During our recent visit to New York, the maestro and I made a trip out to Brooklyn, to visit Mr. Clem Labine at his historic Park Slope brownstone.

Portrait of the Publisher as a Young Aesthete.

Mr. Labine is the notorious founder and former editor and publisher of the Old House Journal, Traditional Building, and Period Homes magazines, all of which sprang from his passion for preserving and improving older buildings, starting with his own spectacular manse. It's no surprise that his home boasts outstanding original as well as restored features and is decorated in high Victoriana, complete with koi pond and neoclassical statues. Clem is also a longtime Friend of Artistic License.

Clem Labine in his spectacular parlor

My favorite room is the Peacock Parlor, the formal sitting room on the grand main floor of the house, with its massive original casings and doors, high ceilings, coral walls, and crammed with art and statues. On the day we visited, an indoor bocce court (non-regulation) had been constructed on the spacious peacock feather patterned carpet. But the real story for The Ornamentalist here is the custom-painted frieze.

The hand-painted peacock frieze in Clem Labine's home in Brooklyn, NY

Unusually large at about two and a half feet high, the Peacock Frieze was designed and painted ~ 30 years ago by Austrian-trained Helmut Bucherl, ably assisted by Howard ("Howie the Grainer") Zucker, the son of a German-born decorative painter. Both artisans spent most of their professional life working for Rambusch Painting Studios of New York. The inspiration for the design was found in an old Dover Edition and embellished by Mr. Bucherl, whose Austrian roots show in the Secessionist-style elements. The ceiling has a very cool anthemion detail of stylized peacock feathers. These borders were painted using a combination of stencils, pounces, hand-shading, and gold leaf, and the entire room, including the ceiling, has been glazed. While the color are rather intense, in the intimate light of this room, they look perfectly balanced.

painted peacock and antler rosette

The peacock motif was adapted to create a four by eight foot ceiling rosette with a fabulous antler-branch spiral border and gold leaf accents which glitter above the electrified gas chandelier.

As you can see a gorgeous decorative painting job endures, like great architecture.

click on any image to view larger
anthemion is in the glossary!

Visit Clem Labine's new blog, The Preservationist

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Faux Marquetry Ceilings: Rathaus, Vienna

detail of a faux marquetry ceiling panel, Rathaus, Vienna

In September 2008 we traveled to Vienna, Austria, where Erling attended the ISMIR conference, and happily, a banquet organized by the city of Vienna for them in the Rathaus- the city hall built in the 1870s in the Gothic Revival style. It is spectacular inside, loaded with graceful arches, stenciled vaulted ceilings, and encaustic tile floors. A large number of rooms have stenciled wood faux marquetry ceilings.

ISMIR conference dinner. There were some other women there, you know, waiting tables.

 
My enthusiasm for the ornament in the building must have been somewhat contagious, as a number of the banquet attendees accompanied me as I snuck from room to room shooting ceilings in the dark.
And to think, I was worried I'd be bored at this event!

These ceilings are made from a light colored pine, that has been beautifully stenciled with pigment or stain to give the look of marquetry; the wood looks richer and the room more grand. The ornament itself is relatively simple and repeated to give an opulent surface without looking too cluttered.

In this room, the lacunaria have been gilt on the edges, I believe with a low karat gold or sliver and tinted varnish.

Some of the stenciling appears to have been done in reverse- pigment is applied, and then removed through the stencil.

These are great borders which could be applied to wall paneling, floors, or furniture as well as ceilings.

More images are posted at my flickr account.

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Gilt highlights

I found this very sweet little trompe l'oeil molding with gilt highlights, in a small passageway of the Hofburg, next to the Empress Sisi's novel indoor convenience. It mimics the grander gilt plaster ornament in the adjoining apartments.

Click on the images to view larger.

This is very simply painted, and the highlights are gilt with a lemon-colored gold leaf. Notice the burnt sienna accents which create reflected highlights. In this tiny dim hallway, this trompe l'oeil is perfectly scaled and very effective.

photos by Lynne Rutter, 2007

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

J.W. Bergl: a Bohemian Muralist in Vienna

Garden murals by J.W. Bergl, Hofburg royal apartments, Vienna. photo by Lynne Rutter, 2007

During our recent trip to Vienna, I visited the Imperial Apartments of the Hofburg palace, and I was thrilled to find there, two small rooms with murals by the Bohemian artist Johann Wenzel Bergl (1718-1789). They are painted on canvas, with a secco-fresco style, and a look that reminds me of papier peint panoramique, applied to all the walls, including two or three jib doors, making these tiny rooms whole, charming worlds unto themselves.
As it turns out, photography is not permitted in the Hofburg, so shortly after taking the above picture, I was asked to leave. I mean, really.

I attempted to console myself with a Schnitzel and a Carafe of Grüner Veltliner in the nearby Burggarten Café.

The very next day I went to Schönbrunn Palace, hoping to get another Look at the wonderful rooms of Bergl murals I has seen there a few years earlier. To my dismay, the Goëss Apartments as well as the other Bergl rooms, were all closed. I was told they are open only on special occasions and by appointment, and was directed to an Office where Appointments are made.
I should point out that this would not irritate me quite so much if there was a decent book on this painter's work available anywhere.

I screwed up my nerve and asked the management if they would be so kind as to open the rooms for me. This request was met with the usual calm Viennese disdain, which conveys a measure of blank shock at having been asked about something that is not allowed. Why on earth would anyone ask about something that is not allowed? Oh no, they told me. Es ist nicht erlaubt. I don't speak German, so I refrained from asking why.
Another day, Erling and I spent over an hour trying to gain entry to the Melk Stiftkeller in Vienna, which is reputedly adjacent to a chapel full of Bergl's paintings. More Grüner Veltliner at a nearby Restaurant was required to recover from our Failure.

detail of the Goess murals at Schönbrunn   photo by Lynne Rutter 2002

Did you think you were going to read all this and go away with no eye candy? Would I do that to you?
Fortunately, I have the photographs I took in December of 2002, when the apartments of the Crown Prince as well as the Goëss rooms of Schönbrunn were open for a display of international-themed Christmas Trees. 

detail of the Goess murals at Schönbrunn   photo by Lynne Rutter 2002

These murals were commissioned by the Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa, and were painted between 1768 and 1777 in an enfilade suite of rooms on the garden level of the Palace. The artist used drawings of original specimens of exotic fauna and flora brought back from Hapsburg-funded scientific expeditions. Schönbrunn has extensive gardens and at one time boasted the largest zoo in Europe.

detail of Bergl murals at Schönbrunn  photo by Lynne Rutter 2002

Shortly after the death of the Empress in 1780, the murals were covered over with wall-hangings, and not rediscovered until 1891. They remain in exceptional condition.

photographs by Lynne Rutter, 2002 Click on the images to see larger version.

J.W. Bergl was born September 23, 1718, in Königinhof, Bohemia. He was a student of the prominent painter Paul Troger, the artist who decorated the ceilings in the enormous library in the Benedictine Abbey at Melk. Bergl worked his entire career in Austria, and is best known for his bright- colored baroque trompe l'oeil murals, most notably those in Melk, and Schönbrunn.


Thank goodness I'm not the only one with a camera! See more of J.W. Bergl's work around the internet while we patiently wait for someone to write a book about this fantastic painter.

detail of Bergl mural at Melk by Harald Hartman via flickr.

• Check the wonderful Surface Fragments blog for some nice close up details of the Berglzimmer at Schönbrunn
• The Bergl frescoes in the Garden Pavillion at Melk, photographed by Harald Hartman.
• Here is an amazing panorama of the rooms at Shönbrunn!!
• Schlosses Ober St. Veit:more of J.W. Bergl's exotic landscape frescoes by Helmut Jaklitsch.
• The Goëss Apartments and other pictures of Shönbrunn, a Picassa album by Chris.
• Flickr album by Ilja van de Pavert, with wonderful photographs of Melk.
• My Bergl Flickr set to which I hope to add more photographs in the near future.
• Some decent but small photos in this souvenir book on Schönbrunn.
• The October 2007 issue of the World of Interiors has a lovely spread about the Goëss rooms.
• Lovely clean shots of empty Berglzimmer by Alexander Eugen Koller

Jib Door is in the glossary!

 

Lynne Rutter Studio