The rococo comes to full fruition in the era of Maria Theresia (1740-1780). Pathos and severity of the Baroque period yield to serenity and esprit. The dramatic stage turns into a playground; and heroes bursting with strength become flirtatious lovers. In place of the austere court ceremony there is the serene garden festival, the fête champêtre. Courtly society now finds its alternative world in this idyll. It slips into the costume of the fashionable pastoral novel.
In the cabinet painting of the time, created for intimate spaces, a keen sense of effects combines with loving accounts of details depicted with the highest precision. The unrivalled master here is Johann Georg Platzer. In his exquisite small-sized paintings even gods and heroes assume a cheerful expression. These are the highlights of cabinet painting, in which the Dutch art of the Golden Age still lingers.
Alte Galerie, Schloss Eggenberg
Eggenberger Allee 90
8020 Graz, Österreich
T +43-316/8017-9560
altegalerie@museum-joanneum.at
Opening Hours
1 November to 17 December only with guided tour by prior appointment
April to October Tue-Sun, public holidays 10am-6pm
Opening Hours Library
Tues–Fri 10am–12pm and afternoons by appointment only
Open in addition:
1st May 2023
29th May 2023