The Travelling court English 3 nd Floor
The Workshop Room In the time of Emperor Franz I the Court Furniture Inspector was in charge of a «Furniture Store Administrator» responsible for maintaining the inventory of court furnishings, and decorators responsible for setting up decorations for festivals, throne canopies and for all improvement work. New furniture and other items, by contrast, were produced under commission by court craftsmen. When the Court Furniture Depository was set up under Emperor Franz Joseph I between 1899 and 1902, it included workshops for restoration work where carpenters, upholsterers, gilders, painters and varnishers kept the state holdings of furniture in good repair. In addition to this the Depository included an embroidery studio where the Imperial tapestries were restored. Today the workshops of the Federal Furniture Administration house carpenters, upholsterers, gilders, painters and metalworkers all working on the conservation and restoration of the Imperial furniture holdings. All of them have contributed in some way to the creation of this room in the museum. 1 PODANY PLANE (RECONSTRUCTION) The process for producing wooden mosaics patented by cabinetmaker Franz Matthisa Podany in 1858 follows the principles of block inlaying which emerged from Italy at the beginning of the Renaissance. In this technique sticks of different types and colours of wood are glued into bundles and cut crosswise into thin slices. In this manner pieces are obtained in which the pattern is identical. In the case of the Podany technique, however, the purpose is not to create intarsia but pieces of veneer which can be combined in marquetry to create a larger decorative surface or repeating pattern, or used as medallions (see showcase and Crown Prince Rudolf s cradle). The Podany plane made the semi-industrialised production of large numbers of pieces of veneer of equal thickness and constant quality possible. Biedermeier Period Rooms After the collapse of the monarchy work began in the Court Furniture Depository on organising a permanent exhibition which would be open to the public. The Biedermeier Period Rooms were first displayed when the exhibition opened in 1924; they were refurbished in 1929 and had to be restored after being hit by a bomb during the Second World War. In contrast to the approach taken by other museums of applied art, the objective in the Biedermeier Period Rooms was not the accurate reconstruction of historical interiors. These rooms were intended to have particular appeal for various groups within the general public. For artists and craftsmen they should provide a collection to be studied. For cabinetmakers and their customers they should act as a collection of samples. For all other visitors it should make them aware of the old crafts and techniques, the interest it aroused keeping the old traditions and crafts alive. For this purpose furniture from the court was used to create idyllic bourgeois mock interiors reflecting the old Viennese tastes and preferences in interior design. The suggestion was that the visitors were presented with typical examples of interior design which were a genuine reflection of how the ambitious bourgeoisie in «Old Austria» lived: a style created for and by the bourgeoisie. And indeed, this image has taken such a hold that even today when looking through the Biedermeier Period Rooms people rarely make a connection between these interiors and the Imperial. In the course of recent renovation work the rooms were adapted and set up as a «museum in a museum», as an educational display of how an exhibition was staged in the inter-war years, thus providing information on historic exhibition techniques. The Biedermeier era comprises the period 1815-48, that is to say the time of the Restoration between the Congress of Vienna and the 1848 revolution. The label «Biedermeier» was originally intended to be satirical, as a humorous criticism of the mind-set of the German middle classes. Around 1900 a new generation of architects and artists who wanted to distance themselves from the eclecti-
cism that characterised Historicism recognised the good qualities of the Biedermeier style and chose to use it as a source of inspiration. Seen through the eyes of the generation that included Adolf Loos and Josef Hoffmann, Biedermeier furniture impressed because of its «honest» approach to objects of daily use, its functionality and the way its design and manufacture were appropriate to the materials used. Its «simplicity» was no longer seen as a failing, as a sign of artistic ineptitude, but as the straightforward and tasteful creation of furniture in which the proportions were perfectly balanced and unnecessary ornamentation deliberately rejected. As a result of this positive re-evaluation, the middle classes, who were trying to find their own cultural identity both in national terms and to distinguish them from the nobility began to see their roots in the Biedermeier style. However, from this motivation sprang the creation of an idealised image of the Biedermeier, characterised by values like simplicity, modesty, honesty and comfort. Thus the truth about the political oppression, the impotence of the middle-class citizen and the widespread social misery of the Biedermeier Period were blanked out. 2 DAYBED This daybed and both chairs come from Empress Maria Ludovica s bedroom in the Leopoldinischer Trakt of the Vienna Hofburg. The apartment of Emperor Franz II (I) s third wife was decorated in 1810/12 to designs produced by Franz Anton Graf Harrach. The «Egyptian Cabinet» can be seen in the entrance hall of the museum. 4 DAYBED This walnut veneered daybed comes from the apartment of Crown Prince Ferdinand. On the occasion of the future Emperor Ferdinand I s marriage with Maria Anna of Sardinia in 1831, the apartment was refitted in the Amalienhof of the Vienna Hofburg. 5 DAYBED FROM THE OLD CASTLE AT LAXENBURG The daybed is veneered in black stained fruitwood and comes from Emperor Ferdinand I s apartment on the second floor of the Innsbruck Hofburg. It was probably made in 1832 for the apartment of the Crown Prince and his wife. The upholstery has been reconstructed from sources in the workshops of the Federal Furniture Administration. 6 SOFA The mahogany-veneered sofa comes from Emperor Ferdinand I s apartment on the first floor of the Innsbruck Hofburg and was made in 1838 by Innsbruck master carpenter Johann Geyr. The upholstery has been reconstructed from sources in the workshops of the Federal Furniture Administration. In 1944 the sofa and more than 200 other items of furniture were moved from Vienna to be stored at Uhercice Castle in Bohemia to protect them from the bombs. In 2006 the Czech Republic returned it to Austria, along with the other furniture which had been kept there. 3 LARGE DIVAN The sofa is made of mahogany and comes from the dining room used by Carolina Augusta, fourth wife of Emperor Franz, in the Schweizer Trakt of the Vienna Hofburg. The furniture was made in 1828 by court cabinetmaker Ernest Gissl. The upholstery has been reconstructed from sources in the workshops of the Federal Furniture Administration.
SW Kitchen Furniture 7 SW KITCHEN During the Second World War numerous houses and flats were destroyed during air raids and after 1945 there was a shortage of both housing and food. Subsidised by foreign donations, the City of Vienna reinstated the social housing programme of the inter-war years. However, furniture remained in short supply. The City of Vienna therefore joined with the Austrian Federation of Trade Unions (ÖGB) and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber to found a «Soziale Wohnkultur» (social living) project to produce and distribute good quality, affordable, modern furniture for broad sections of the general public. In 1956 the first SW furniture catalogue was published which also included a range of kitchen furniture designed to take account of the cramped conditions in the municipal housing apartment blocks. Seating was provided by a specially designed stool called the «Connexi», available in a three or four-legged version. The second SW furniture catalogue, which was published in 1958, included a modern fitted kitchen programme in a range of colours. The pastel shades were typical of the positive attitude to life current in the 1950s. They were also used for the «Daisy» dinner service produced by the Lower Austrian company «Lilien-Porzellan» from 1959 on. Sanitary Furniture their use. The palette of items available ranges from the ornately carved to the standardised tin wash basin used for the military and civil servants. In addition to this there was a wide range of special porcelain sanitary ware. In the French court at the time of Louis XIV the «lever» (morning reception) and the «coucher» (retiring to bed) of the king involved a public show in front of the court of what are usually private tasks of personal hygiene such as taking a bath, powdering oneself or even using the commode. This was not usual in the Viennese court. 8 WASHSTAND Cherry Josef Ulrich Danhauser Vienna, 1820 The Danhauser sche Möbelfabrik (Danhauser Furniture Factory) was the first furnishing company in Vienna whose customers could buy complete sets of furniture from its catalogue with interior furnishing in various price categories. In his factory Danhauser employed craftsmen from a variety of spheres (not just carpenters, but also upholsterers, decorative metalworkers, gilders, metalworkers etc.) so that everything that was needed to set up an apartment could be produced under the one roof. The items were made to designs drawn up by Danhauser or his employees. The designs coming out of the Danhauser chen Furniture Factory were seen as imaginative creations which found popularity with customers throughout Austria and beyond, and were used as inspiration by many a small carpentry firm. The use of a bathroom as a special room dedicated to bodily hygiene is an invention of the 19th century. Prior to this the articles needed for personal hygiene were usually located in the bedroom or in the adjoining dressing room. In modern times various types of sanitary ware have been developed by European furniture makers, ranging from washstands and dressing tables through bathroom mirrors and shaving stands to bidets and commodes, their design reflecting both the stylistic developments and the social status attached to
Walk-in Depot The walk-in depot is a storeroom for the collection of items in use: both items used by the Museum and those that are loaned out for the decoration of official function rooms are stored here. In addition to this practical and lively exchange of pieces used for display in the Museum and in public offices, visitors are given an opportunity to see those pieces waiting to be used. This storage depot dates from the time of Emperor Franz Joseph and has been retained in its original form for display purposes. Many items stored in the previously inaccessible depot were simply forgotten over the decades. Now the visitor has the opportunity to rediscover these highly valued and admired antiques. 9 SISSI The signing of the Austrian State Treaty on 15th May 1955 brought an end to the Allied Occupation that had divided the country into four. Austria became an independent neutral state. The State Treaty is regarded as the birth certificate of the Second Republic. The economic recovery began and people tried to forget the terrible war years. It was precisely during this period, when people were hungry for harmony and romance, that Ernst Marischka decided to tell the love story of Elisabeth and Emperor Franz Joseph. His recipe for success was the use of historical facts as key points, skilfully building a story around them which could be understood by people in the 1950s. The true life history of Elisabeth was too full of problems for Marischka; he deliberately set out to romanticise it for his public. In the post-war period people longed for the «good old days», so Marischka deliberately omitted the unpleasant periods in the Empress life and the darker side of her character, instead bringing romantic events and great emotion to the fore. It is remarkable that the «Sissi» films were made at precisely the same time that James Dean emerged as an idol for rebellious youth and Brigitte Bardot became the symbol of a new eroticism. «STATE TREATY TABLE» Beech, carved and painted; tabletop walnut veneer, neo Baroque Mid 19 th century The Austrian State Treaty was signed in Belvedere Palace in Vienna on 15th May 1955. Furniture for this official act was provided by the Imperial Furniture Collection and since that time the four identical tables on which the Treaty was signed have been referred to as the «State Treaty Tables». In the past they were housed in the apartment of Field Marshal Radetzky in the Vienna Hofburg. In 1955 one of the tables was used as a prop in the «Sissi» films. WRITING CASE Personal property of Emperor Franz Joseph End of the 19 th century 10 SISSI With the filming of the life of Elisabeth, Austrian director and producer Ernst Marischka fulfilled a long held desire. As early as the 1930s he had already presented his material on the stage in the operetta Sissy (!) with Paula Wessely, but, when it came to both scenery and music, the cinema opened up whole new possibilities. In fact the three «Sissi» films were to be the highpoint of his cinematic career. It was not by chance that people s thoughts returned to the legend of the Habsburgs in post-war Austria. Cinematic representations of the ruling dynasty had been enhanced in a variety of ways during the period after the First World War, and a return to this strategy after 1945 was intended to recreate a link to a period of history when Austria held a position of greater importance than it did after the Second World War. Undoubtedly awareness of the historic characters experienced a resurgence and they were reappraised in a more positive light as a result of their cinematic treatment.
«GISELA FURNITURE» Carved and painted softwood Vienna, ca. 1893/95 This green furniture, which was used in the films for Sissi s bedroom in Gödöllö, came from Elisabeth s daughter Gisela s apartment in Schönbrunn Palace. This so-called Gisela furniture was painted green and decorated with colourful flowers so that they would co-ordinate stylistically with the exuberant and exotic murals by Baroque artist Johann Bergl. They demonstrate well the fact that in dressing his sets director Ernst Marischka paid little heed to historical fact. 11 THRONE With its extravagant gold carving and heavy Baroque forms, this throne, which was used in the «Sissi» films and other historic films made in Vienna, is exactly how one imagines a throne to be. However, it was not originally intended for use on ceremonial occasions. This throne is part of a furniture ensemble that the heir to the throne, Franz Ferdinand, had made for his salon in Belvedere Palace. Franz Ferdinand, who was assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914, was a champion of the neo-baroque style as the national style of Austria. When he moved into Belvedere Palace in 1900 he had his new living quarters decorated in this pompous style. Chair collection Sitting on various types of low stool is a historical development linked to the settling of the nomadic tribes. In antiquity the throne, as the prototype of our higher chairs, was reserved for gods, rulers and kings, serving as a symbol of their dignity. The Roman emperors tradition of sitting on the throne was copied by early Christian bishops and thereby introduced into Western culture. For a long time the chair remained a means of social distinction, those in the lower ranks not being allowed to sit. Courtly ceremonial differentiated between chairs with high or low backrests, arms and sumptuous decoration or simple stools. Seating arrangements clearly determined the hierarchy of those who were allowed to sit. With the development of sedentary occupations, use of the chair has become more egalitarian since the 18th century, but there are still marked differences between the chairs in managerial offices and those used by ordinary employees. Since chairs were one of the most important items of furniture in the court, the Depot of Movables contains a large collection of more than 15,000 chairs of all shapes and styles, which were produced by craftsmen over three centuries. 1