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The Iconography of Prague during the Reign of Maria Theresa
Chodějovská, Eva
2017
Abstract
By the mid-eighteenth century Prague, the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia, which had been under the rule of the Habsburgs since 1526, was no longer a royal residence. But although it was losing its importance, it continued to be depicted in various 'images'. This paper provides a brief classification and basic characteristics of different groups of city plans and vedute dating back to the 18th century. The main focus is on two of them, which – combined – illustrate Prague in the reign of Maria Theresa. The first is the commissioned description of the coronation ceremony of Maria Theresa as queen of Bohemia in 1743; especially the first part, the ceremonial entry of the empress and her husband into Prague illustrated with six vedute of the procession captured in carefully chosen public spaces by Jan Josef Dietzler, provides us 'in words and images' with a detailed and lifelike view of Prague. As Prague lacked an orientation plan serving public practical purposes until the 1780s, the most suitable source meeting topographical and aesthetical requirements, originally intended to be printed, is a large 'panoramic' town plan of Prague by Joseph Daniel Huber (1769). An integral part of the paper is a diagram which shows the route taken by Maria Theresa and Francis Stephen of Lorraine on the day of their ceremonial entry into the city, plotted against the city plan and marking the viewpoints, which Dietzler made use of to sketch his vedute.
Part of
The Empress Cities: Urban Centres, Societies and Economies in the Age of Maria Theresia von Habsburg
Publisher
EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste
Source
Eva Chodějovská, "The Iconography of Prague during the Reign of Maria Theresa", in "The Empress Cities: Urban Centres, Societies and Economies in the Age of Maria Theresia von Habsburg", Trieste, Eut Edizioni Università di Trieste, 2017, pp. 51-75
Languages
en
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