Monday 9.8.2010
In class we talked about Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Martin Luther was the son of an entrepreneur, and grandson of a coal-miner, in Germany. He studied law until he was walking home one day and was caught in a thunderstorm. Taking this as a sign of God’s anger, he vowed to enter a monastery if he survived the storm. He did of course survive the storm and became an extremely devout monk. After being one of the most exemplary monks, he posted his 95 Theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg, mostly as a response to the sale of indulgences. Protestantism was born and Martin was excommunicated. More on the theology of Protestantism can certainly be found at a better source than this blog. Point being, anyway, that Protestantism hit European politics like a battering ram. The Habsburgs remained Catholic. Many of their princes turned Protestant. The Counter-Reformation was the Catholics’ attempt to re-convert the populace to Catholicism. It involved the building of ever-grander churches, and many art commissions.
Anyway, we got a tour of Stephansdom (St. Stephen’s Cathedral) from the wonderful Dr. O. The interesting thing about the Dom is that it incorporates so many different architectural styles. This is because it took so long to build. The oldest part of the church is in the Romanesque style, later parts of it were built in the Gothic style. Later Gothic parts of the church are far more ornate than the rest. The famous south tower, the highest point in old Vienna, is Gothic. Originally, the north tower was planned as a mirror to the south, but by the time they got around to building it, no one was interested in Gothic any more (Renaissance was growing strong in Italy) and a shorter tower was built instead. The money was used to beef up the walls defending the city, which proved fortuitous as the Turks attacked a few years later. One of the reasons they kept building Stephansdom bigger and bigger was to try to lure a bishop to live there, which would make Stephansdom a cathedral and turn Vienna into some kind of important Catholic region (bishopric?). In any case this was finally accomplished in the fifteenth century, and Frederick III, who reigned when this happened, is in a giant, ornate tomb in one corner of the cathedral.
Gothic!
Speaking of those buried in Stephansdom, Prince Eugene of Savoy is buried in another corner, which his own little chapel-thing. This is because he was the hero of the Turkish wars, the man who finally pushed the Turks away from Austria. He was extremely popular in the Empire, and extremely wealthy: he had Belvedere built. It’s interesting, however, that the Catholics allowed him to be buried in an important cathedral, as he was a flaming homosexual. Was he not openly gay? (Though it seems that it was quite obvious.) Or was he simply so popular that the Catholics didn’t want to deal with the opposition that not burying him would cause in Vienna?
Dr. O said that the measurements of Stephansdom revolve around religiously important numbers. When one pays one’s €3,50 and climbs the south tower (which has a magnificent view of the city and a little tourist shop at the top) one must climb 343 steps. Dr. O thought this may have something to do with 3 representing heaven (trinity, &c.) and 4 representing earth (4 seasons, what have you). This 3 and 4 theme is also present in a famous pulpit in St. Stephen’s, which was created by the stone mason Master Pilgram. (One of the U-Bahn stops is named after him – Pilgramgasse.) He uses the theme of three and four. He’s got lots of symbolism on the pulpit, which is very late Gothic; he completed it in the year 1500. Four of the most important Catholics peer out from the pulpit, who also represent the four humors. Toads, representing evil, crawl up the banister but are held back by a dog, representing faith and loyalty and possibly Jesus. The part of the pulpit that I find most interesting is that Pilgram sculpted himself peering out of a window in the side of the pulpit. This kind of artist’s signature began to emerge with the Renaissance, when artists began to take more pride in their work. In the Middle Ages, art was usually done for the glory of God – artists often didn’t even sign their work. Pilgram sculpted himself peering out of a window at a second place in the cathedral: beneath his organ loft. As Pilgram was not Austrian, the Viennese didn’t like him and often came to taunt him while he worked, saying his organ loft was not structurally sound. In response he sculpted himself beneath the loft, with it being supported by his shoulders. He is known because of this sort of signature as “the window-peeper.”
Pilgram's Pulpit.
The window-peeper.
Next to Stephansdom is the Haas-Haus, a modern glass building. It caused a great scandal – such a modern building adjacent to ancient marvels. Personally, I hate the Haas-Haus. It completely ruins Stephansplatz. Yes, it’s a very attractive glass building, and I would enjoy seeing it in San Diego. But it’s got no place next to a cathedral dating from the twelfth century, with all the other buildings keeping a baroque style. As an American coming to Europe for the first time, I was delighted with the old, ornate buildings of Vienna. It gave me the (accurate) feeling that I was in a very old European city. The architecture is a big reason why I love Vienna. While the Haas-Haus is also a great piece of architecture, and speaks to the era in which it was built, it does not fit AT ALL with its surroundings, and I wish it wasn’t there.
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