Časopis ARS 35 (2002) 1-3

Zuzana LAPITKOVÁ

Ikonografické súvislosti slávobrán pre slovenské banské mestá (rekonštrukcia výtvarnej podoby na základe dobového opisu)
[Iconographical Content of Triumphal Arches for Slovak Mining Town (Reconstruction of Their Art Visuality on the Basis of the Written Documents)]

(Resumé)

In the archive of the town Banská Štiavnica there is a town chronicle recording the 1751 visit of Emperor Franz I. Lothringen to the Central Slovak mining towns. It deals in detail with the triumphal arches built as decorations for his entries. The iconographical content of the arches is focused on this particular occasion, combining representations of the Habsburg-Lothringen sovereigns and the local mining industry. Amongst the preserved preparatory drawings for arch designs, we can identify five which were actually used for this entry based on the evidence of the descriptions of the arches given in the town chronicle. These preparatory designs of arches are definitely unique art works in the context of Slovak art. Their iconography and artistic character connect them with similar ephemeral decorations commissioned for the court in Vienna. The artist responsible for the designs and arches is the Austrian painter Anton Schmidt. He settled in Banská Štiavnica, the most important central Slovak mining town, after being educated at Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He also occasionally worked with the architect and theatre designer Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena. According to the periodical Wienerisches Diarium, which issued regular report of the emperor's visit, the author of the librettos for the arches was a local Jesuit, padre Matz. The iconography of ephemeral architecture of the second half of the 18th century retains many features of the decorations used for court and public festivities by Habsburg absolutist sovereigns of the previous epoch. Although a new interest in Enlightenment philosophy emerges in the course of the reign of Maria Teresia, fostering rationalism and moderation, nevertheless, festivities, while decreased in number, still exhibit some of the grandeur of decorations from the previous era, often considered to have reached a highpoint of dynastic display.