A Baroque garden consists not only of plants but is also very much defined by architectural elements.
Terraces are connected by steps and ramps and charm the observer by constantly changing perspectives. Concealed grottos and garden pavilions offer shady retreats. Key architectural accents are placed through aisles of trelliswork.
Another feature of Baroque gardens is seen in sculptures and vases. They are not only decorative elements but enliven the garden experience as an open space that communicates an individual scenario. The stone artworks are superlative vehicles for reflecting the owner’s social status and outstanding abilities. They transport the visitor into the realm of mythology. Popular and ever recurring themes include the four elements, the seasons and the continents.
Baroque garden paradises are usually demarcated clearly from the environment by surrounding walls. Nevertheless, artfully wrought paled gates and garden buildings (belvederes) are skilfully planned as sightlines into the distance and open up views into the surrounding landscape.
Illustration of four vases from Fischer‘s Entwurff Einer Historischen Architectur
engraving, Johann Adam Delsenbach after Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, 1721
In his monumental work, Fischer devoted an individual chapter to stone vases, their bodies generally embellished with reliefs or ornamentation. In their regularly arranged installation they accentuate the splendour and order of a Baroque ensemble. But talented sculptors are needed to achieve this – and apparently they were not always available, as Prince Liechtenstein writes: “In these parts one cannot find people of good taste, people of inventive talent, those who can give the necessary finish to such things [vases]”
Stift St. Paul im Lavanttal, Kunstsammlungen
Right wall
Architecture
Architecture built of wood, stone or brick adds a marked accentuation to the Baroque garden. Airy walkways (treillages) are sometimes overgrown with climbing plants, and as one roams along one can delight in a diverting interplay of bright sunshine or cool, shady areas.
Ingeniously designed pavilions, maisons de plaisir and belvederes positioned on higher ground at the end of the garden catch the eye and simultaneously offer views out into the surroundings. The borders between architecture and nature become blurred, an interplay that creates a uniquely fascinating visual effect.
The play with colours is not only limited to the floral parterres. At times, the artfully wrought paled gates and handrails are even gilded. Bright stone balustrades set up sightlines into other garden sections, imparting colour accents in contrast with red-brick walls and green trellises.
Former Belvedere of the Summer Palace Althan on Rennweg
engraving, Johann August Corvinus after a drawing by Salomon Kleiner, 1735 (reproduction)
The architect Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach designed a small viewing pavilion (belvedere) for the Althan garden, a building remarkable for its airy appearance formed of fragile trelliswork and a baldachin-type crown. A contemporary enthused that “this whole garden with its buildings lacks nothing in its little pleasantries and art.”
ÖNB/Wien, Handschriften und alte Drucke, Sign. Cod. Min. 9, Bd. 3, fol. 146
The east-side removable glasshouse in the Schwarzenberg garden on Rennweg
engraving, Georg Daniel Heumann after a drawing by Salomon Kleiner, from: Viererley Vorstellungen […]. Augsburg, 1735 (reproduction)
In the foreground of this view we can pick out various gardening activities. Some gardeners are fetching water in tubs, while others level the paths with roller and rakes.
Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Sammlung Woldan
Paarsches Lustgebäude und seine Reithschul (Count Paar’s Maison de Plaisance and its Riding School)
engraving, Georg Daniel Heumann after a drawing by Salomon Kleiner, 1725
The Riding School of Count Paar in the suburbs of Vienna had a small, fenced pleasure garden in the rear part of the spacious riding area. The garden, demarcated by shrubbery, is striking for the entrances marked with arches, which greatly enhance the aesthetic impression. The garden tapers to a point and at this end there was a niche containing the sculpture of the winged horse Pegasus – an allusion to the Riding School.
Private Collection
Part of a gate ensemble from Schloss Hof
wrought iron, Christian Kremer and Johann Georg Oegg, c. 1730
This fragment shows the high art of metalwork, which caused Josef Maurer to enthuse in 1889: “One can scarcely believe that the artists who made these gates availed solely of rigid iron as artistic material, so delicately have they formed a miscellany of flowers, leaves and tendrils out of iron.”
Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.
Pavilion in the Baroque garden of Schloss Obersiebenbrunn
Garden pavilions are placed at interfaces of wide avenues, sightline axes, or open spaces. Nature is transported into interiors through large windows. Furthermore, these airy buildings are decorated inside with paintings that generally allude to nature, the seasons and rural life.
The pavilion in Obersiebenbrunn is part of a palatial and garden complex created by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt on commission of Prince Eugene of Savoy.
Wikicommons / photo: C.Stadler/Bwag
The Imperial Summer Palace of Schloss Hof, view from the north
oil painting by Bernardo Bellotto, c. 1760 (reproduction)
This view presents an excellent visual impression of the terraced ensemble and impressively conveys the garden’s plan with its use of architectural elements such as steps and walls. Also visible are parts of the imposing, wide-ranging yet finely structured arrangement of the berceaux; they are overgrown with climbing plants so their appearance changes with every season. Architecture and nature meld into one.
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Gemäldegalerie, Inv.Nr. GG 1675
View of the north-east gate of Schloss Hof
Historical photograph, Josef Wlha, 1885–1890 (reproduction)
Resplendent wrought-iron gates were located on both sides of the old north driveway to the palace. Parts of these no longer extant ensembles have been preserved to the present day
ÖNB, Bildarchiv und Grafiksammlung, Inv.Nr. WH 321-D
Crown of a gate pillar from the north-east gate of Schloss Hof
wrought iron, Christian Kremer and Johann Georg Oegg, c. 1730
Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.
Central part of a gate pillar from the north-east gate of Schloss Hof
wrought iron, Christian Kremer and Johann Georg Oegg, c. 1730
Splendid paled gates and railings greatly enhance the aesthetic charm of a Baroque garden. These exquisite works of wrought iron preserved at Schloss Hof were made by the art metalsmiths Johann Georg Oegg and Christian Kremer. They are counted among the most superlative works from the Austrian Baroque era and were even showpieced at the 1873 World Exhibition.
Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.
Back wall
Elevation of a treillage pavilion in the garden of Schloss Hof
pen and wash drawing, Anton Zinner, c. 1726–1730 (detail from the plan of the palace and garden ensemble of Schloss Hof)
Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H., Inv.Nr. SKB 008007
Satyr with Putto
terracotta bozzetto for the staircase of the Liechtenstein City Palace, Giovanni Giuliani, pre- 1705
A permanent place in a garden’s scenario was reserved for figures of children (putti), which take the stage either alongside one another or with satyrs (chimeras). They adorn stairs, balustrades and fountain ensembles and are a universal symbol of debonair charm and joie de vivre. Before the hard work got going on the stone, a small clay model of each figure was usually made as diminutive guide for the final sculpture.
Zisterzienserabtei Stift Heiligenkreuz
Hercules and Antaeus
terracotta bozzetto, Giovanni Giuliani, c. 1735
The theme of the hero Hercules, who, thanks to his cunning, defeats his challenger Antaeus, can be found in many a Baroque garden. The Neptune Fountain in the cour d’honneur of Schloss Hof shows this theme in two sculptural groups at once. They point indirectly to Prince Eugene, who, just like Hercules, succeeded in defeating his enemies through his cunning.
Zisterzienserabtei Stift Heiligenkreuz
Left wall
Sculpture
An essential “module” in the realm of the Baroque garden consists of sculptures and stone vases. They frame parterres and avenues, are also placed on fountain ensembles and are concealed in the hedges. The assiduously fashioned figures and relief-adorned vases are intended not only to delight guests as they roam at their leisure, but their allegorical significance also provides food for thought and intellectual diversion.
The motifs reflect the cycles of nature and hint more or less overtly at the owner’s character. And occasionally the whims and quirks of human nature are satirised in the shape of humorous dwarf figures.
The aesthetic significance of the figural adornments enhancing a garden’s impact is already underlined in early treatises on horticulture: “The statues and garden adornments add much to the beauty and splendour of garden and are themselves greatly enhanced in their beauty.”
Group of cherubs representing the element earth
historical photography, Josef Wlha, 1885–1890 (reproduction)
ÖNB Bildarchiv und Grafiksammlung, Sign. WH 696-D
Torso of a stone figure of a child from Schloss Hof
sandstone, Johann Christoph Mader and workshop, c. 1730–1736
Among the “must-have” adornments of a garden were sculptures, mostly of ancient deities which allude to the owner and his outstanding qualities. But, besides chimeras such as sphinxes and large-format stone figures, we find little figures of children, so called putti. A treatise on gardens extols them: “They indeed stand everywhere in a garden / and one cannot have enough of them there.”
Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.
Head of a stone figure of a child from Schloss Hof
sandstone, Johann Christoph Mader and workshop, c. 1730–1736
This part of a putto belonged to a figural group which was destroyed later and used as building material. It was only a few years ago that the stone head was discovered in a wall and salvaged.
Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.
Putti group as personification of the elements of Water and Earth
pen and ink drawing, Johann Wolfgang van der Auwera, c. 1730–1736 (reproduction)
The Würzburg sculptor van der Auwera (1708–1756) worked for a time in the workshop of Prince Eugene’s court sculptor Johann Christoph Mader and was also involved in producing the figural adornment of the Schloss Hof garden. During this period he produced several drawings of figures from Schloss Hof which are lost today. These sketches are a valuable source for reconstructing the original figural programme.
Martin von Wagner Museum, Universität Würzburg, Inv.Nr. Hz 260
The Liechtenstein Summer Palace in Vienna
oil painting by Bernardo Bellotto, c. 1760 (reproduction)
The Belvedere garden of the Princes of Liechtenstein could be viewed panoramically from a higher building, a belvedere. The ensemble boasted an opulent array of sculptures, transporting the visitor into the realm of mythology.
LIECHTENSTEIN. The Princely Collections, Vaduz–Vienna, Inv.Nr. GE 889
Fragment of a stone vase from Schloss Hof
sandstone, Johann Christoph Mader and workshop, 1st third 18th C.
Stone vases often have figural decoration on their handles or along the body. This might take the form of floral garlands, satyr heads, mascarons, female heads and more. The head shown here was for example part of a stone vase.
Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.
Historical photograph of a stone vase from Schloss Hof
Josef Wlha, c. 1898 (reproduction)
Bundesmobilienverwaltung, Inv.Nr. FK9547
Steps Arrangement in the Belvedere Garden
engraving, Johann Jacob Grossmann after a drawing by Salomon Kleiner, c. 1730 (reproduction)
Steps formed the architectural connections between terraces. They bring order into the garden, signal distinctive points in the terrain and are furthermore subsurfaces for sculptures and vases. Meanwhile, wide steps were given risers that were as flat as possible so as to make strolling from one terrace to the next as relaxed as possible. Steps were not only to be trodden on foot but also driven over, as illustrated by the example from the Belvedere, with the sloping surfaces.
Belvedere, Wien, Inv.Nr. BB_6274-066
Overall view of the garden of the Palais Liechtenstein in Rossau
engraving, Georg Daniel Heumann after a drawing by Salomon Kleiner, 1731/32, from: Viererley Vorstellungen[...], No. 20
This view illustrates that not only sculptures but also stone vases play a significant role as decorative element in a Baroque garden. The central axis of this ensemble is lined by overdimensional vases. Together with the stone figures, they add the character of a museum to the garden.
LIECHTENSTEIN. The Princely Collections, Vaduz–Vienna, Inv.Nr. DW J-4-11.165
Prospect of Schloss Neuwaldegg
engraving, Johann Adam Delsenbach after a drawing by Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, 1719, from: Prospecte und Abriße, einiger Gebäude von Wien / Anfang einiger Vorstellungen der Vornehmsten Gebäude so wohl innerhalb der Stadt als in denen Vorstädten von Wien, sheet 27 (reproduction)
The garden of Schloss Neuwaldegg is a prime example of a terrace-structured Baroque garden. Seamless transitions between the levels were effected by means of wide slopes and steps.
Wien Museum, Inv.Nr. 19268/1
Making sculptures for the Gloriette in Schönbrunn Palace Park
chalk drawing, Friedrich August Brand, 1775 (reproduction)
This contemporary drawing conveys an impression of an open-air sculptor’s workshop. The blocks of stone for large figures were pre-hewn in the quarry and then brought to be chiselled and finished in the vicinity of their final exhibition location.
Wien Museum, Inv.Nr. 63.818
