'al fresco gemahlt[e] ... Helden=Geschichten': The myths of Troy and Aeneas in the baroque wall and ceiling painting

• Applicant: Dr. Julia Fischer
• Subject Area: Art History
• Term: from 2018 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 398473018

The ancient legends, and especially the legend of the Trojan War, provide a huge number of heroes, which could be used as identification figures for representing the prestige and self-importance of a ruler. Besides the great warriors such as Achilles and Hector, the Trojan virtuous hero Aeneas should also be mentioned. The project investigates how the ancient legends were used as a strategic tool in the ruler’s representation. The depictions of Aeneas and the Trojan War, focused on the courtly wall and ceiling painting, are analysed using case studies from the territories of the Holy Roman Empire and comparisons with European pictorial programs. Based on the assumption that the ancient myths have been the shared foundation of the European culture, the project examines the individual and flexible adaption of the topics to the particular representative, spatial, ceremonial and confessional contexts. Focused on the myths around the Trojan War and the story of Aeneas, the project will primarily investigate why that subject matter was taken up in the courtly depictions and how it was received and adapted in the wall and ceiling painting in the Holy Roman Empire.The project considers three main aspects. The basic question concerns the depictions’ iconographic and iconological meaning, but also the social and spatial context and the ceremonial functions of the respective rooms are of central importance. The third aspect is concerned with the artistic transfer processes and with the question, which European paintings have been used as a model. It aims to obtain a better understanding of the reception, adaption and transformation of already developed patterns in form and content.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants