EMPIRE OF STYLE is a new show at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, culled from Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, brings together 100 treasures from the coffers of the imperial House of Habsburg — Titians and Tintorettos, arms and armaments among them — many never before seen in the United States
From the Review: The Habsburg line began in the 12th century, when, legend has it, a knight named Radbot found his lost hawk (Habicht in German) perched on a hill in what is now northern Switzerland and built his fortress on the spot, naming it Habichtsburg, or Hawk’s Castle.
Believe that tale or not, what we know for sure is that this powerful 800-year dynasty continued into the early 20th century, when Karl Franz became the last Austrian emperor by ascending to the throne after his elder brother, Austrian Archduke Ferdinand, was assassinated in 1916, an act of violence that instigated World War I. (By the end of that conflagration, the map of Europe had been redrawn and the Habsburg reign was at its end.)
Ruling as kings of Europe — and often simultaneously crowned titular Holy Roman Emperors — the Habsburgs used war, diplomacy and strategically planned marriages to control a vast region from their seats in Austria and Spain.
Now, this fascinating dynasty is the subject of a major exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, titled “Habsburg Splendor: Masterpieces from Vienna’s Imperial Collections.” On view through September 13, the show tracks the fates, fortunes, art holdings and royal accoutrements of the Austrian side of the House of Habsburg through 100 items — many never before seen in the United States and on loan from the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. These include Greek and Roman antiquities, medieval armor, courtly table settings, royal costumes, centuries of the finest decorative arts and entire carriages, thoughtfully organized by curator Monica Kurzel-Runtscheiner, director of the Imperial Carriage Museum in Vienna, in collaboration with experts at various U.S. venues. (Following the show’s close in Houston, it will move on to the High Museum, in Atlanta.)
“This exhibition chronicles the art of leadership through enlightened patronage,” says Gary Tinterow, the MFA Houston’s director. “But to me more importantly, we have brought major masterpieces of European painting not seen here before. In one staggering display, a single room holds The Crowning with Thorns by Caravaggio; a portrait of Jane Seymour Queen of England and third wife to Henry VIII, by Hans Holbein the Younger; and the stunning Jupiter and Io by Correggio.”
This article was published in Introspective Magazine, New York.
See more: http://www.1stdibs.com/introspective-magazine/house-of-habsburg-museum-of-fine-arts-houston/
