{"id":44523,"date":"2022-03-29T04:35:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T03:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=44523"},"modified":"2024-08-14T15:33:58","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14T14:33:58","slug":"emperors-most-beautiful-animals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/emperors-most-beautiful-animals\/","title":{"rendered":"The Emperor&#8217;s Most Beautiful Animals"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/kaiseranaimalssmall.jpg\" alt=\"State hall of the national library\" class=\"wp-image-44521\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/kaiseranaimalssmall.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/kaiseranaimalssmall-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The National Library&#8217;s special exhibition in the magnificent state hall explores the role of (wild) animals at the Vienna court with a focus on their depiction across several centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A mix of art and history in a venue worth visiting in its own right<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Particular highlights are pictorial works from Emperor Ferdinand I&#8217;s collection<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Runs Mar 24 &#8211; Jun 26, 2022<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The national library&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/prunksaal\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2750\">state hall<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/exhibitions\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"37363\">Current exhibitions<\/a> in Vienna<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Paintings from the Habsburg Collections<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"309\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/jaguarkaisersanimals.jpg\" alt=\"Male jaguar; Leopold Stoll; watercolour; 1820 \u00a9 \u00d6sterreichische Nationalbibliothek\" class=\"wp-image-44522\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/jaguarkaisersanimals.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/jaguarkaisersanimals-300x185.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\">(Male jaguar; Leopold Stoll; watercolour; 1820 \u00a9 \u00d6sterreichische Nationalbibliothek)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you might imagine, Austria&#8217;s national library has more than faded comics and a 1974 Guide to Salzburg in its archives. Their extensive and prestigious collections include those put together in imperial times and provide a rich resource for regular temporary exhibitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The latest such event presents depictions of animals across four centuries, but does more than just showcase the artistic representations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The exhibition <em>The Emperor&#8217;s Most Beautiful Animals<\/em> also highlights the role played by native and non-indigenous creatures in historical court life, whether in private zoos and households, scientific collections or as plunder from foreign expeditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So we get to see, for example, pictures of long-lost menageries like the one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/prince-eugene-savoy\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"58031\">Prince Eugene<\/a> kept at Belvedere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or learn about the early 19th-century expedition to Brazil that saw thousands of specimens sent back for evaluation by the staff of the court&#8217;s Hof-Naturalienkabinett (the same expedition features in the current <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/brazil-exhibition\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"47219\">special exhibition<\/a> at the Natural History Museum).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or discover the horrors of the 18th-century Hetztheater, which entertained crowds with animal fights until the emperor stepped in to ban the practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nevertheless, the focus lies on the representations of the animals themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As well as possessing intrinsic artistic value, the pictorial works also represent several centuries of endeavour in natural history. And they reflect the motivations of the patrons: the need or prestige, scientific curiosity or simply a love of animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In particular, the exhibition has around 40 highlights from a huge collection of almost 10,000 animal watercolours belonging to Emperor Ferdinand I (1793-1875). These feature the art of specialist painters working with the Hof-Naturalienkabinett in the early 1800s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Dates, tickets &amp; tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Get a glimpse of the animals from March 24th to June 26th, 2022. An entrance ticket to the state hall includes the exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider the temporary displays as icing on a Baroque cake: the state hall or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/prunksaal\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2750\">Prunksaal<\/a> is the kind of library you see touted on Instagram or Twitter as one of the world&#8217;s most beautiful. And rightly so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those with an interest in natural history (with an emphasis on history) should take time to visit the appropriately-named <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/natural-history-museum\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"252\">Natural History Museum<\/a>, whose upper level includes numerous preserved animals from late Habsburg times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And those with a fondness for Habsburg art collections should visit the Natural History Museum&#8217;s twin: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/khm\/overview\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1446\">Kunsthistorisches Museum<\/a> has an extensive paintings gallery full of old masters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, of course, one of those early menageries (established out in the country by Emperor Franz Stephan in the mid-1700s) is today&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/palace-of-schonbrunn\/vienna-zoo\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1674\">Sch\u00f6nbrunn Zoo<\/a>: the oldest working zoo in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get to the exhibition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>See the main <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/prunksaal\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2750\">state hall article<\/a> for travel tips. It&#8217;s within the Hofburg complex that dominates part of the centre of town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Josefsplatz 1, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1asmHlbVpicbQLt1557vf6l4l0zQ\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The National Library&#8217;s special exhibition in the magnificent state hall explores the role of (wild) animals at the Vienna court with a focus on their depiction across several centuries. Paintings from the Habsburg Collections (Male jaguar; Leopold Stoll; watercolour; 1820 \u00a9 \u00d6sterreichische Nationalbibliothek) As you might imagine, Austria&#8217;s national library has more than faded comics [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44521,"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":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-44523","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-museums","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44523","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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44523"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74548,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44523\/revisions\/74548"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}