On the road

A continent on the move

Ever-present war also sets Europe in motion. Armies and retinues crisscross the entire continent. They leave a trail of devastation and make the streets unsafe. Those who have lost their livelihoods are forced to become robbers. Entire swathes of land are ravaged by brutal gangs. Despite all the danger and hardship, everyone seems to be on the move: Merchants populate Europe’s trade routes with their goods. No less mobile are the craftsmen and artists. Pilgrims set off on pilgrimages in search of their salvation.

 

Simply the struggle for survival forces others into constant migration: peddlers, who possess nothing more than what they carry on their backs, hordes of beggars, jugglers and “itinerant folk”. They all must reckon with imprisonment and expulsion at any moment.

 

This world does not yet know the phenomenon of the modern tourist. A precursor is the young aristocrat who sets off on the grand tour, a great educational journey that should provide him with knowledge of the world. Yet it is not solely magnificent views and famous monuments that captivate the curious eyes of many travellers. The accounts of contemporaries and artistic depictions also deal with the daily hardship of travel, everyday life abroad, decay and poverty as the consequences of constant crises and conflicts.

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 Overview

Landscape with a Mine

Herri met de Bles


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Flemish Village Street with View of Antwerp

Joos de Momper the Younger


Few countries in Europe had such a large density of cities as the Netherlands. The densely populated, commercial metropolises became a popular artistic motif and bore witness to fame, glory and prosperity of the young Netherlands.  more...

Harbour View

Jan Abrahamsz. Beerstraten


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Dutch Costal Landscape

Jan van Goyen


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A River Landscape at Dusk

Aert van der Neer


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Alte Galerie, Schloss Eggenberg

Eggenberger Allee 90
8020 Graz, Österreich
T +43-316/8017-9560
altegalerie@museum-joanneum.at

 

Opening Hours


April to October Tue-Sun, public holidays 10am-6pm 
1 November to 17 December only with guided tour by prior appointment

Opening Hours Library
Tues–Fri 10am–12pm and afternoons by appointment only