Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Yonan, Michael E

Titel

Modesty and Monarchy: Rethinking Empress Maria Theresa at Schonbrunn

Ist Teil von

• Austrian History Yearbook, 2004-01, Vol.35, p.25-47

Erscheinungsjahr

2004

Quelle

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Explores how Maria Theresa's political circumstances are reflected in the rather complex functioning of her palaces, often described as having an informal domesticity mixed with the traditional rigid ceremonial structure. Schonbrunn palace was designed with rooms for familial contact, & there appeared to be a modern aspect to its use & habitation. The author argues, however, that "imperial domesticity" does not cover the unusual choices that Maria Theresa made in art & architecture. Schonbrunn reflected Maria Theresa's familial, political, & personal concerns. Its imperial suite included the apartments that Francis I & Maria Theresa shared until his death in 1765 & that she afterward occupied alone. Its imperial spaces allowed Maria Theresa to consolidate her political power as her status changed, & they reflected her conflicting roles as empress, mother, wife, & widow. Its interior layout & decoration helped defined her as an elegant noblewoman during her marriage & a devout widow thereafter, ruling from a position of relative physical seclusion. 3 Figures. L. A. Hoffman