Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Baroque Conversions
It is said that the baroque was a leveller of styles. This is ironic, because its grandeur was
also an over-the-top display of power and wealth. Once the fad caught on, churches al-
most everywhere were pimped up and brought into line with the style.
The baroque era in Austria, as elsewhere, had begun in architecture before gradually
spreading into the fine arts. The fresco paintings of Paul Troger (1698-1762) would be-
come a feature of the late baroque. Troger is Austria's master of the baroque fresco and
he worked together with Munggenast on such buildings as Stift Melk, where he created
the library and marble hall frescoes, using light cleverly to deliver a sense of space.
The Austrian kaisers Leopold I (1640-1705), Joseph I and Karl VI (1685-1740) loved
the dramatic flourishes and total works of art of the early baroque. During the late 17th
century the influence of Italy and Italian masters such as Solari (of Salzburger Dom
fame), de Pomis (Schloss Eggenberg) and other foreigners was typical of the movement.
Vorarlberg, however, was an exception, as here Austrians, Germans and Swiss played the
lead roles. While the zenith of baroque was reached during the era of Fischer von Erlach
from the early 18th century, during the reign of Maria Theresia (1717-80) from the
mid-18th century Austria experienced its largest wave of conversion of older buildings
into a baroque style. This, however, brought little in the way of new or innovative build-
ings. A neoclassicist movement was gaining popularity, and in Austria as elsewhere the
movement left behind the saccharine hype and adopted a new style of strict lines.
