Exploring The Artistic Legacy Of Germany And Austria

Germany and Austria are famous for their rich artistic legacies, with Germany having played a crucial role in the development of Western art, especially Celtic, Carolingian, and Ottonian art. The two countries are also renowned for their musical heritage, with many famous composers hailing from the region, including Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, and Richard Strauss.

Germany and Austria have also made significant contributions to the fields of literature and theatre, with writers such as Hermann Bahr, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and Arthur Schnitzler emerging from Austria, and Germany producing well-known playwrights such as Johann Nestroy, Franz Grillparzer, and Ferdinand Raimund.

In terms of visual arts, Germany has a long history, from the earliest known figurative art to contemporary creations. The country has also been at the forefront of architectural innovation, with unique Brick Gothic architecture and the Bauhaus School, which aimed to bring art into everyday life.

Overall, Germany and Austria have left an indelible mark on the world of art, music, literature, and theatre, with their creative output continuing to shape and inspire cultural endeavours globally.

German Romanticism

The early period, roughly 1797 to 1802, is referred to as Frühromantik or Jena Romanticism. The philosophers and writers central to the movement were Wilhelm Heinrich Wackenroder, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel, August Wilhelm Schlegel, Ludwig Tieck, and Friedrich von Hardenberg (Novalis).

The early German Romantics strove to create a new synthesis of art, philosophy, and science, by viewing the Middle Ages as a simpler period of integrated culture. Late-stage German Romanticism emphasised the tension between the daily world and the irrational and supernatural projections of creative genius. The critic Heinrich Heine criticised the tendency of the early German Romantics to look to the medieval Holy Roman Empire for a model of unity in the arts, religion, and society.

Romanticism, along with Classicism and Realism, developed from the ideology of the Enlightenment combined with Sturm und Drang, a proto-Romantic movement in German literature and music that took place between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Two key trends dominated Romantic art: early Romantic painting originated in the Protestant North, while South Germany was the home of the Lukasbrüder (Brotherhood of St Luke), who later became known as the Nazarenes.

The older romantics, such as the Schlegel brothers and Novalis, tended towards Sturm und Drang, which sought depth and profound emotion. For them, Romanticism was not a reaction against Classicism, nor did it ignore Classicism's achievements – rather, it supplemented and amplified them, placing a stronger emphasis on the realm of the unconscious. Fritz Strich defined Classicism as innately calm, insisting upon completeness and perfection. Romanticism, on the other hand, was intrinsically restless and indefinite; longing had neither aim nor limit. Subsequently, borderlines between the arts became obscured, and art, literature, and music merged. Creative minds of the time saw tones, colours, and words as different forms of the same language.

Romanticism also maintains that art cannot be learned; it emerges from divine inspiration. The artist's role is that of a mediator between the creative and the divine. Nature was considered the visible spirit, the evidence of the divine in the absence of an image of God Himself. The romantic landscape artist was charged with the responsibility of contemplating nature and its spirit and then replicating it in art.

Early Romantic painting was rooted in the Protestant north and centred in Dresden, home to Caspar David Friedrich and Philipp Otto Runge, the two names most notably associated with this branch of Romanticism. Romantic painting here was characterised by silent reflection and introspection. Landscape became its high point and principal subject matter. The northern Romantics portrayed the landscape as an emblem of the divine world order of which man is a mere component – man stands apart from nature and longs to immerse himself in it, but this is something he can do solely in his imagination, not in reality. These artists viewed man as an individual who contemplates and feels more than he calculates and thinks, and whose chief desire was to become a spiritual and intellectual being. They took inspiration from the work of Romanticists such as Novalis, the Schlegel brothers, Schubert, and Weber.

After 1830, Romanticism was no longer so significant in the progression of German art. The industrial bourgeoisie favoured art that evoked their present reality instead of the high ideals of the past. Key artists from this time include Ludwig Richter and Moritz von Schwind. Both artists' work incorporated Nazarene beauty blended with folklore.

German Renaissance

The German Renaissance was part of the Northern Renaissance, a cultural and artistic movement that spread among German thinkers in the 15th and 16th centuries, developing from the Italian Renaissance. Many areas of the arts and sciences were influenced, notably by the spread of Renaissance humanism to the various German states and principalities.

The German Renaissance was driven by a renewed interest in classical learning and rapid economic development. At the beginning of the 16th century, Germany was one of the most prosperous areas in Europe, benefiting from the wealth of sectors such as metallurgy, mining, banking, and textiles.

One of the most important German humanists was Konrad Celtis (1459-1508), who studied in Cologne and Heidelberg and later travelled throughout Italy, collecting Latin and Greek manuscripts. Another important figure was Johann Reuchlin (1455-1522), who studied in various places in Italy and later taught Greek, studying the Hebrew language with the aim of purifying Christianity.

The most significant German Renaissance artist is Albrecht Dürer, especially known for his printmaking in woodcut and engraving, which spread all over Europe. Dürer began his career as an apprentice to a leading workshop in Nuremberg, that of Michael Wolgemut, who had largely abandoned his painting to exploit the new medium. Dürer worked on the most extravagantly illustrated book of the period, the Nuremberg Chronicle, published by his godfather Anton Koberger, Europe's largest printer-publisher at the time. After completing his apprenticeship in 1490, Dürer travelled in Germany for four years and Italy for a few months before establishing his own workshop in Nuremberg. He rapidly became famous all over Europe for his energetic and balanced woodcuts and engravings, while also painting. Though retaining a distinctively German style, his work shows strong Italian influence, and is often taken to represent the start of the German Renaissance in visual art.

Important architecture of this period includes the Landshut Residence, Heidelberg Castle, the Augsburg Town Hall, and the Antiquarium of the Munich Residenz in Munich, the largest Renaissance hall north of the Alps. A particular form of Renaissance architecture in Germany is the Weser Renaissance, with prominent examples such as the City Hall of Bremen and the Juleum in Helmstedt.

In addition to Dürer, other significant artists of the German Renaissance include Lucas Cranach the Elder, the Danube School, and the Little Masters.

German Baroque

Germany and Austria are famous for their rich artistic legacies, particularly in the realms of music and visual arts. One notable period in German art is the German Baroque, which flourished during the Baroque Age (approximately 1600 to 1750). This era witnessed a lavish and ornate architectural style, with extravagant details and historic splendour.

The German Baroque period produced several notable architects, including Balthasar Neumann, considered the most famous architect of this style. Neumann designed the Würzburg Residence, a princely-bishop's residence in Würzburg, surrounded by vineyards. This grand ensemble features a world-renowned staircase with a ceiling fresco measuring 18m x 30m, making it the largest ever painted. The Court Chapel and the Mirror Cabinet are also noteworthy features of this residence.

Another important architectural work of the German Baroque is the Zwinger in Dresden, attributed to the Saxon Elector Augustus II the Strong. The Zwinger boasts arched galleries, splendid pavilions, and the gold-adorned Crown Gate. It also houses the Old Masters Picture Gallery and an impressive collection of porcelain.

Fulda, a Hessian town on the edge of the Rhön Mountains, earned the nickname 'The Baroque City' due to the significant number of feudal structures built or transformed during the 17th and 18th centuries. One of its highlights is the Cathedral of St. Salvator, constructed by the renowned architect Johann Dientzenhofer.

Potsdam also underwent a remarkable Baroque makeover during the reign of "Soldier King" Frederick William I and his son, Frederick II. They adorned the buildings with domes, gables, and ornate embellishments, including the Old Market Square. The expansion of Park Sanssouci and the palace by the same name is considered a "major work of German rococo architecture."

The Baroque era placed great emphasis on extravagant gardens and symmetrical layouts. The Court Gardens of the Würzburg Residence, designed by Balthasar Neumann, are a prime example of this. The gardens feature arcades, terraces adorned with cherubs and sculptures, steps, and fountains, seamlessly blending nature and culture.

While German Baroque architecture took influence from Italy, German Baroque art, particularly painting, developed a distinct character. German painters of this period often incorporated dramatic elements, intense expressions, and emotional landscapes into their works, reflecting the turmoil and nationalism of the time.

One notable painter of the German Baroque was Caspar David Friedrich, born in 1774 in Greifswald on the Baltic Sea. Friedrich's works frequently depicted mountains, forests, and rivers, along with dramatic skies and evocative morning mists. His signature style often included sunlight or moonlight illuminating dramatic clouds and Gothic ruins. Friedrich's paintings, such as "Cross in the Mountains" (1808) and "Chalk Cliffs on Rügen" (1818), captivated audiences with their emotional and uneasy landscapes.

German Rococo

The Amalienburg in Munich, built between 1734 and 1739, is one of the first examples of a Rococo building in Germany. It was designed by the Belgian-born architect and designer François de Cuvilliés as a hunting lodge for the roof of which was used as a platform for shooting pheasants. The Würzburg Residence, constructed between 1737 and 1744, is another notable example of early German Rococo. It was built for Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn of Würzburg by Balthasar Neumann, who travelled to Paris and consulted with the French rocaille decorative artists Germain Boffrand and Robert de Cotte.

The German Rococo style is also evident in a number of pilgrimage churches constructed in Bavaria in the 1740s and 1750s. The Wieskirche, built between 1745 and 1754, is one of the most notable examples. It features an oval-shaped sanctuary and a deambulatory that fills the church with light from all sides. Another example is the Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, built between 1743 and 1772 by Balthasar Neumann.

The Rococo decorative style reached its summit in southern Germany and Austria from the 1730s until the 1770s, dominating the church landscape in these regions.

German Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture, drawing inspiration from classical antiquity. German Neoclassicism in the visual arts began around 1760 in opposition to the then-dominant Rococo style. Rococo architecture emphasises grace, ornamentation, and asymmetry, whereas Neoclassical architecture is based on the principles of simplicity and symmetry, drawn from 16th-century Renaissance Classicism.

The German Neoclassicist movement was influenced by the writings of Johann Joachim Winckelmann, who distinguished between ancient Greek and Roman art and defined periods within Greek art. Winckelmann believed that art should aim for "noble simplicity and calm grandeur" and praised the idealism of Greek art. He further stated that:

> The only way for us to become great or if this be possible, inimitable, is to imitate the ancients.

In architecture, German Neoclassicism became widespread as a symbol of wealth and power, particularly in what was then Prussia. Karl Friedrich Schinkel built many prominent buildings in this style, including the Altes Museum in Berlin, providing the city with a distinctly neoclassical centre.

Neoclassicism in sculpture, on the other hand, suffered from an excess of ancient models, as most of the highly regarded works were Roman copies of Greek sculptures. Nevertheless, Neoclassicism in sculpture remained the dominant style for most of the 19th century.

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