{"id":3525,"date":"2016-07-26T07:12:49","date_gmt":"2016-07-26T06:12:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=3525"},"modified":"2025-03-18T16:07:54","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T15:07:54","slug":"medieval-masterpieces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/medieval-masterpieces\/","title":{"rendered":"Upper Belvedere: Middle Ages to Renaissance"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"141\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/medievalthumb.jpg\" alt=\"Medieval church ruins\" class=\"wp-image-3536\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Belvedere is most famous for its more recent art: Klimt, Schiele and the like. But the Upper Palace also houses a collection from a time when a Klimt painting might have started a religious war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Small exhibition of masterpieces by medieval &amp; early Renaissance artists<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Belvedere is a dynamic museum, so the actual works on display may vary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book <a rel=\"sponsored\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/belvedere-palace-tickets-l145892\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_BelVenue\">Upper Belvedere tickets<\/a>* online<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/upper-belvedere-palace\/\">Upper Belvedere info &amp; overview<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contemporary &amp; medieval?<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/upperbelvedereart2.jpg\" alt=\"Final room in the permanent exhibition of Middle Ages art at Belvedere\" class=\"wp-image-58795\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/upperbelvedereart2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/upperbelvedereart2-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Exhibition view <em>Picture this! The Belvedere Collection from Cranach to EXPORT<\/em>; photo: Johannes Stoll \/ Belvedere, Vienna)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several rooms on Upper Belvedere&#8217;s ground floor begin your chronological journey through the prestigious art collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this <em>Middle Ages to Renaissance<\/em> section, we start with fine examples of gothic and romanesque religious works, then end with art broadening its wings to serve other functions in the early Renaissance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first room, though, offers something entirely different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Carlone Hall<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The palace&#8217;s former large summer drawing room has wall and ceiling paintings that give the illusion you&#8217;re looking at three-dimensional architecture, rather than a flat painting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These illusionist paintings mix in nicely with actual arches, making it hard to distinguish between what&#8217;s real and what&#8217;s fake (plus \u00e7a change). The central ceiling also features a celestial theme around the figures of Aurora and Apollo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This Carlone Hall is quite beautiful and also home to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/carlone-contemporary\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"57612\">series of contemporary exhibitions<\/a>; every six months or so, an invited artist presents a modern work that fits within this particular architectural context and imagery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Various national and international names have contributed, such as Ugo Rondinone, Renate Bertlmann, and Walter Pichler.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/carlonecontemporaryexample.jpg\" alt=\"Lena Henke installation: Aldo Rossi\u2019s Sleeping Elephant \u00a9 Johannes Stoll \/ Belvedere, Wien\" class=\"wp-image-47072\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/carlonecontemporaryexample.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/carlonecontemporaryexample-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(View of a Carlone Contemporary exhibition installation: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/lena-henke-installation\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"41194\"><em>Aldo Rossi\u2019s Sleeping Elephant<\/em> by Lena Henke<\/a> \u00a9 Johannes Stoll \/ Belvedere, Wien)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The historical art<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The bulk of Belvedere&#8217;s medieval collection actually appears in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/prunkstall-and-belvedere-medieval-collection\/\">former stables<\/a>, but the masterpieces are in Upper Belvedere in the rooms succeeding the Carlone Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They begin with a wooden crucifix depiction from over 800 years ago and end in the early 1500s with the likes of Lucas Cranach the Elder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what are perhaps the highlights?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Znaim altarpiece<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>One room focuses on 15th-century altar panels, including the 1440s altarpiece from Znaim (in today&#8217;s Czechia) along one wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The realistic reliefs carved from lime and spruce detail chaotic crucifixion scenes: the original colours remain clear around 700 years later. (700 years!)<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"407\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/znaimer-altarpiece.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13528\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/znaimer-altarpiece.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/znaimer-altarpiece-300x244.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Znaimer Altar. Photo courtesy of and \u00a9 Belvedere, Wien; reproduced with permission under the terms of <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 4.0.<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Masters at work<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>A collection of late-gothic panel paintings opposite the Znaim altarpiece includes two panels by the <em>Master of the Schottenaltar<\/em> from around 1470.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The other altar panels from the set appear in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/schottenstift-museum\/\">Schottenstift Museum<\/a> and are notable for often portraying biblical scenes with&nbsp;contemporary clothing and backgrounds (including 15th century Vienna). So their value to historians is enormous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The same room also features panels by Michael Pacher (around 1435-1498) and Marx Reichlich (around 1460-1520) from the late 1400s and early 1500s. Their works leap out at you because of the sudden jump in quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even the untrained eye sees how both use depth and perspective to stand out from their peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Change ahead<\/h4>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"338\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/upperbelvedereart1.jpg\" alt=\"Part of the Krainburg Altarpiece\" class=\"wp-image-58794\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/upperbelvedereart1.jpg 338w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/upperbelvedereart1-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 338px) 100vw, 338px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Master of the Krainburg Altarpiece, The Martyrdom of the Sts. Cantius, Cantianus, and Cantianilla (Detail), c. 1510; photo: Johannes Stoll \/ Belvedere, Vienna)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The final room in this section still features its original grotesque frescoes (Roman-style decorative scrollwork), dedicated to the deeds of Aeneas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These frescoes provide another classical reference of the kind much loved by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/prince-eugene-savoy\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"58031\">Prince Eugene<\/a> (Belvedere&#8217;s original owner and a man quite happy to draw parallels between his many exploits and the heroes of Greek and Roman mythology).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The room illustrates the transition of art away from gothic styles, religious motifs and ecclesiastical purposes: a change that includes growing self-awareness among artists of their role as skilled individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So we have, for example, altar panels where the artists insert themselves into the picture, as nicely explained for the Krainburg altarpiece and an anonymous master.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A highlight here is undoubtedly the 1530\/1540 <em>The Odd Couple<\/em> painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder, who was the subject of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/khm\/cranach-the-elder\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"46990\">2022 solo exhibition<\/a> elsewhere in Vienna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Incidentally, if you enjoy medieval art, can I recommend the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/khm\/kunstkammer\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1489\">Kunstkammer<\/a> at the Kunsthistorisches Museum? Many of the works within date back to a similar time period. Plus you get to see the glory that is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/khm\/saliera\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"18158\">Saliera<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next on your trip around Upper Belvedere: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/baroque-early-19th-century-art\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"3574\">Baroque, Neoclassicism &amp; Biedermeier<\/a> section.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Belvedere is most famous for its more recent art: Klimt, Schiele and the like. But the Upper Palace also houses a collection from a time when a Klimt painting might have started a religious war. Contemporary &amp; medieval? (Exhibition view Picture this! The Belvedere Collection from Cranach to EXPORT; photo: Johannes Stoll \/ Belvedere, Vienna) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3536,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3525","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-belvedere-sites","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3525"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81390,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3525\/revisions\/81390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}