Heaven On Earth. The Phenomenon of Baroque Austrian Monasteries

Dr. phil. Claudia Lehner-Jobst, Art historian and director of the Augarten Porcelain Museum, Vienna

At the height of the Counter-Reformation, the cultural landscape of Austrian monasteries developed into a network of Baroque architectural extravagancies and flamboyant art collections. The unfailingly successful connection between heaven and earth engaged architects, sculptors, painters, musicians, porcelain and silk makers, and a stage designer, in creating perfect universes of glorification. The Gesamtkunstwerk of an Austrian monastery is made of a grand architectural structure, often at imposing positions in the countryside, and magnificent interiors which visually dissolve physical boundaries. Representing the hierarchy of the heavens, as well as the relations with the Imperial house, monastic collections grew with important commissions and inheritances, including all things rare and divine, from Kunstkammer treasures to porcelain for the dessert table, exhilarating celestial frescoes and calyxes adorned with the empress´ jewellery.