Letters from Vienna #208
A virtual guided tour of Vienna, Part 19, Die Freyung
Letter to Baron Bethell #28
Dear James,
Close to the Schottenstift is the Palais Daun-Kinsky, which was built for Wirich Philipp von Daun by Johannn Lucas von Hildebrandt between 1713 and 1719. At the time the former was the Viceroy of Naples and latter was working on the Belvedere on behalf of Prince Eugen of Savoy.
Palais Daun-Kinsky
“Johannn Lucas von Hildebrandt was born in Genoa in 1668, the son of a German captain who served in the Imperial Army and distinguished himself in the Tyrolean Rebellion and the Neapolitan Wars.”
“According to his own statements, he received his artistic training from Carlo Fontana in Rome, where he had moved around 1682/1683. From about 1693 he worked as an independent architect. He first returned to Genoa, then did voluntary army service as a field engineer in 1695/1696 and in this capacity took part in two campaigns in Piedmont under Prince Eugene. In 1696 he finally came to Vienna, where he would find a new home and place of work until his death. In 1697 he received his first major commission from Vienna, a garden palace for Heinrich Franz Graf Mansfeld in the suburb of Landstraße, which, however, could not be fully realized. In 1698 he became an imperial councilor and in 1700 an imperial court engineer. From 1704 his collaboration on the Vienna plan by Leander Anguissola and Johann Jakob Marinoni is documented. In 1706 he married Francisca Johanna Geist, who was seven years his junior, with whom he was to have eight children, three of whom died soon after birth. In 1719 Hildebrandt acquired the house at Alservorstadt 9 (8th, Schlösselgasse 10).”
“With the construction of the Schönborn Palace, he initiated extensive building activity in the city and its wider surroundings, with orders from Prince Eugene (Belvedere - Lower Belvedere 1712 to 1716, Upper Belvedere in the shell 1721 to 1723), the Counts of Harrach and the Reich Vice Chancellor Friedrich Karl Graf Schönborn (Schönborn Castle in Göllersdorf, Lower Austria, 1712 to 1717) or the Secret Court and State Chancellery (today the Federal Chancellery, 1717 to 1719) are of particular importance.”[1]
Palais Harrach
Not far removed is Palais Harrach, which was designed by Domenico Martinelli (November 30, 1650 Lucca, † September 11, 1718 Lucca) on behalf of Ferdinand Bonaventura Harrach.
Here there are plenty of restaurants and cafés to dine or simply hang out in.
“Ordained a priest in 1673, Martinelli…devoted himself to the study of draftsmanship and architecture. In 1690 he came to Vienna, where he worked for his three main patrons, Johann Adam Andreas Fürst Liechtenstein, Ferdinand Bonaventura Graf Harrach and Dominik Andreas Kaunitz. He played a major role in the two Liechtenstein palaces in Bankgasse (begun in 1694 for Count Kaunitz) and in Roßau (for Prince Liechtenstein), as well as in the Palais Harrach auf der Freyung.”[2]
“Ferdinand Bonaventura Harrach, founder of the famous Harrach collection of paintings, was one of the leading diplomats and politicians under Emperors Leopold I and Joseph I. He became ambassador in 1661 and was then ambassador to France (1669) and to Spain (1673-1675, 1697/98). From 1677 to 1699 he was chief equerry and then until 1705 chief steward, president of the Secret State Conference and minister.”
“In Vienna he had Martinelli build the Palais Harrach and in Rohrau, the foundation of Harrach’s estates, he had the palace destroyed in the Turkish wars rebuilt (from 1668). In 1689 he acquired Bruck an der Leitha Castle, which was expanded by his son Aloys Thomas Raimund. As Viceroy of Naples (1728-1733), he also contributed important works of art to the picture gallery founded by his father, which became the largest private collection in Austria and is now kept in Rohrau Castle. Its founder died in 1706 in Karlsbad (Karlovy Vary) in the Czech Republic.”[3]
Palais Ferstel
Directly next to Palais Harrach is Palais Ferstel.
“In 1855…several architects in Vienna were commissioned to create designs for a new building that would also house the stock exchange. Heinrich Ferstel, who was on a study trip in Florence at the time, broke it off immediately and returned to Vienna. The draft he submitted in October 1855, in which the impressions of his trip were reflected, was selected and Ferstel was entrusted with the construction management in 1856. There were great difficulties during construction, as the building area was extremely irregular, changes were required after the plans were approved (significant enlargement of the trading floor) and the neighboring houses had to be protected. For example, the neighboring Harrachpalais (Freyung 3) had foundations only five feet deep, but the three-storey basement of the Ferstelpalais required foundations eight fathoms deep. Delays also resulted from the use of the stock exchange locations. Therefore, the construction, which had begun in the spring of 1856, could not be completed until the end of 1860.”
“The building was constructed in the Italian Renaissance style. The façades facing Herrengasse and Strauchgasse were originally supposed to have stone structures, and the smooth surfaces would have been made of glazed bricks. Since tests did not achieve the desired result, it was decided to build all the facades in cuboid construction. The base and the pillars of the house were made of Wöllersdorf stone, the structures are made of hard Kaiser stone. Margarethner stone was chosen for the wall surfaces. Inside, Wöllersdorfer stone was also used for the stairs, the stock exchange staircase and the pillars were made of polished Untersberger marble. The sculptures are by Hanns Gasser and Franz Melnitzky, the frescoes on the bazaar staircase were created by Carl Josef Geiger. In the Herrengasse/Freyung (Ferstelpassage) passageway, the Danube Mermaid Fountain designed by Ferstel was erected, with sculptural decorations by Anton Dominik Fernkorn.”
“The built-up area is 2,071 square meters, of which 394 square meters are the trading floor. The Café Central was housed in the rooms below this hall until 1947.”[4]
On the other side of the Freyung is the Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien, which is currently hosting an exhibition of works by Kiki Kogelnik.
“Kiki Kogelnik spent her childhood and youth in Bleiburg in Carinthia. In 1954 she began studying in Vienna at the University of Applied Arts and was in Kurt Schwarz’s graphics class and Hans Knesl’s sculpture class. After a year she moved to the Academy of Fine Arts and became a student of Albert Paris Gütersloh (painting) and Herbert Boeckl. Already during her student years Kogelnik, together with Arnulf Rainer, Wolfgang Hollegha, Josef Mikl, Markus Prachensky and Maria Lassnig, belonged to the circle of young avant-garde around the gallery next to St. Stephan under the direction of Monsignor Otto Mauer. She participated in the gallery’s first group exhibitions, presenting abstract works influenced in part by Serge Poliakoff of the École de Paris.”
“Her stay in Paris in 1958/1959 was decisive for Kogelnik’s career. She had previously been close to Informel and Abstract Expressionism, but when she followed Sam Francis to the USA around 1961, she found an entirely new form of expression. She spent a year in Santa Monica, California and moved to New York in 1962. There she became part of a close group of artists that included Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Andy Warhol, Larry Rivers, Tom Wesselmann, Joan Mitchell, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns and others. With her extravagant outfits and headgear, Kogelnik herself became a walking happening.”
“The artist also began to work with figures and symbols. Some of the early works are reminiscent of photograms – photographic imprints of the objects placed directly on the illuminated film…As early as the 1960s, Kogelnik developed her characteristic reduction of the body to its outline. During this time she also began to concern herself with the role of women in society. At the same time, Kiki Kogelnik started using new materials more and more often. From 1962 she created “portraits” of her friends, who were becoming increasingly famous, by recording their silhouettes on wrapping paper. During this period, her work was heavily influenced by the colours and materials of Pop Art.”[5]
Best,
Michael
[1] https://www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at/Johann_Lukas_Hildebrandt
[2] https://www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at/Domenico_Martinelli
[3] https://www.gedaechtnisdeslandes.at/personen/action/show/controller/Person/person/harrach-1.html