Belvedere Research Journal

Diplomatic Art History

Thomas Moser — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

When on April 18, 1901, the decision was made in Paris to construct the first purpose-built embassy in Vienna, the ministerial authorities hoped to put an end to the never-ending letters of complaint from the ambassadors about the inadequacies of the Palais Lobkowitz, which was rented until the completion of the new embassy. Yet controversies around the French embassy continued: A much more intense tug-of-war played out among architects, ministers, and diplomats over the representation of the Third French Republic in the architecture and furnishings of the planned building. I examine the years-long struggle of the state architect Georges Chedanne with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Fine Arts, and the changing ambassadors on-site in Vienna. In particular, I trace the different positions, demands, and needs of the actors involved not only through written sources but also in the architectural and artistic program of the building on Schwarzenbergplatz.

The primary tension at the heart of the planned embassy was that Chedanne envisioned a modern Gesamtkunstwerk somewhere between Art Nouveau and Eclecticism, whereas the Ministry of Foreign Affairs insisted on a self-confident representation of the Third Republic—both proposed styles conflicting with the diplomatic reality of the ambassador’s life. I argue that Chedanne attempted to face this precarious situation artistically: Not the history of France but the far less problematic history of French art should await the visitors at the embassy. This, however, did not spare the building decades of scorn from both French ambassadors and the Viennese public.

From Masks to Modernism

Christian Bauer — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Egon Schiele produced his first Expressionist work in 1910. Portraits and selfportraits turn their dramatic countenances toward the viewer. The origins of these vivid facial expressions and gestures have been a focus of Schiele scholars for half a century. The key question is whether the artist’s objective in creating these works was to depict an inner truth that goes beyond the facade of his subjects. This research article suggests that theatrical phenomena provided a stimulus for Schiele’s early Expressionism. I focus on the ubiquitous presence of the theatrical in the lives of a young generation of artists at the beginning of the 20th century in Vienna. In this context, the central source of inspiration for Schiele’s art was his friend, the artist Erwin Osen. Osen was brought up on the theater; his appearance, his range as a universal artist, and his (fictional) journeys made a lasting impression on Schiele. At the same time, Schiele was deceived and disappointed by Osen. For Schiele, the mask becomes the symbol for deception but also the medium for a new reality that is borrowed from the performing arts, and it dominates his portraits and self-portraits from 1910.

Calm Before the Storm?

Anna-Marie Kroupová, Thomas Zimmel, Karl Klaus Körner — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

This essay focuses on two seascapes from the Belvedere collection by the painter Lorenzo Valentino Butti (1805–1860; born in the port city of Trieste) that were completed in 1846: Seestück mit Scirocco [Seascape in the Sirocco] and Stürmische See auf seichtem Grund bei Malamocco [Stormy Seas in Shallow Waters near Malamocco]. While the first painting was presented as an example of the romantic mythologization of Venice in the exhibition Viva Venezia! (Belvedere, 2022), this analysis shows that both works are far more than mere decorative harbor scenes and were conceived by Butti as a pair, in both thematic and formal terms. By studying the richly detailed depiction of a range of ships, flags, and weather conditions—supported by iconographic close reading, archival research, contemporary press sources, biographical records, and maritime expertise—we connect the works with concrete historical events that occurred in 1844. An analysis of the specific description of the image and the meteorological conditions that it portrays obliges us to not only correct the title Seestück mit Scirocco by reverting to the original title, Seestück mit Sciroccal-Luft [Seascape with Sirocco Air], but also conclusively revise the location from Venice to Trieste. The commission from Emperor Ferdinand I during his visit to Trieste in 1844 appears to have had a dual purpose: The paintings not only document maritime incidents but also present the imperial claim to power of the Habsburg monarchy. The works also ultimately provided Butti an opportunity to enhance his image on the path toward becoming a marine painter to the imperial court.

Jewish Modernity in Multiplicity

Julian Adoff — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

In Central Europe, especially in Poland, in the second half of the 19th century, Jewish artists engaged in a very particular form of nationalist discourse. Partly emulating their non-Jewish neighbors, Jewish artists sought to find visual manifestations to explain their layered subjectivities and identities. This study examines the work of Maurycy Gottlieb, a Jewish/Polish artist whose paintings exemplify the negotiation of Jewish identity with Polish national culture. Gottlieb attempted to manifest a visual form that simultaneously expressed his Jewish identity, his status as an Other in the eyes of the non-Jewish Pole, and his desire to be a constructive member of Polish society. Through dramatizations of the Self, Gottlieb’s use of self-portraiture—I argue—engages with the multiplicity of Central European culture, built on dynamic subjectivities and allegiances. The resulting identity Gottlieb expressed in his art is one of hybridity that shows a continual sense of belonging to oft-conceived mutually exclusive groups. As a result of his dialectically woven multiplicities of identity, we can use Gottlieb’s self-portraits to challenge the presumed homogeneity of cultural ethnonationalism often associated with the Central European region of his time. This study is part of a call to explore how multiple versions of national identity were simultaneously created in the region before ethnonationalism emerged as dominant after World War I.

Otto Hettner’s Picknick from 1906

Kati Renner — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Born in Dresden, Otto Hettner (1875–1931) was a painter and graphic artist of the early Modernist period who has long been largely overlooked by researchers. Hettner lived and worked in various locations in Germany and abroad, taught as a professor in Dresden, and acted as an intermediary in the sale of artworks (for artists including Edvard Munch). His now largely unknown work, which can only be found in a few public collections, is highly varied in terms of both style and content; it emerged around 1900 in an artistic arena shaped by Impressionism, Symbolism, Expressionism, and monumental painting. Upon his death, Hettner left an oeuvre of around 4,300 works, but confiscation and war reduced this number to the approximately 60 paintings that remain today. These include Picknick [Picnic], which Hettner painted in Fiesole near Florence in 1906. It was one of 58 works by the artist that could be seen at the autumn exhibition of the Hagenbund in Vienna in 1910, and it was acquired for the city’s Modern Gallery in 1911. This essay describes, for the first time, the context in which the work was produced, offers insight into the working methods of the artist during this very important phase of his career, and, with the help of selected reviews, traces the enormous success that he enjoyed in Vienna in 1910.

Editorial

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100