Vienna to Rome: the masterpieces from the House of Habsburg

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:02]At the end of the 13th century, a dynasty in Central Europe arose to change the course of the West and the world. The House of Habsburg became one of the most powerful families >> [music] >> in European history with a vast territorial reach. Beyond their immediate political influence, this house built an identity based fundamentally on the Catholic faith using art and beauty as powerful means of evangelization. Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Paolo Veronese, Titian, Anthony van Dyck, Guido Cagnacci, and Tintoretto are just some of the artists whose works are part of this great collection and can now be admired in the wonders of the Habsburgs. And in the Flemish section, [music] there is another painter, Anton van Dyck. So, it's Rubens, van Dyck, and Bruegel to start with and then we can present Frans Hals. He is an important Dutch painter. [music] And Jan Steen with a very interesting, kind of funny, even even funny painting.

[00:01:02]Then we switch to the German painters.

[00:01:04]We do have Lucas Cranach with a wonderful Adam and Eve.

[00:01:09]50 masterpieces divided according to the nationalities of their artists. German, Flemish, the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez, and the Italian painters. The paintings are usually kept in Vienna but have been transported to Rome for special exhibition until July 3rd.

[00:01:25]I think especially interesting is the presence of German and Flemish art in Rome because this is not so dominant at all the beautiful collections and near Via del Corso. So, [music] there is a lot of a lot of beautiful things to see.

[00:01:40]That the exhibition is being held at Palazzo Cipolla in the center of the city is also significant. The architects of this impressive building were Viennese as well.

[00:01:49]So, then again, it was important to have kind of the the Catholic and Catholic um uh um fighting together with with [music] Venice, of course, and then you have, uh, the the family of uh, the Colonna.

[00:02:08]If there is one artist associated with Rome, meanwhile, it's Caravaggio. The exhibition includes his work, The Crowning with Thorns, a painting that encompasses the essence of the Italian master, and a special use of the contrast between light and shadow.

[00:02:22]There is, [music] um, mostly no landscape in the background, so it's really really concentrated on the actual scene, and it has a lot of to do with the character of of theater, to be a, so. And, um, >> [music] >> there is even a theory that he staged these scenes, >> [music] >> uh, be it mostly religious scenes, of course, um, and he staged them, and he used, um, kind of lights to [music] to imagine the the way the light works on the figures. And he uses very bright lights and very dark shadows, so it's very dramatic as a as a light technique in itself. This exhibition is far more than just a painting collection. It is a Habsburg [music] family journal that offers a winding and beautiful journey into the heart of European history through art and the power of painting.