Journal Analele Banatului N.S. Archaeology-History

Elena Miklósik

Botezuri, cununii și inmormantări. Insemnări manuscrise și informații tipărite dezvăluind prezența artiștilor in cetatea Timișoarei in prima jumătate a secolului al XIX-lea / Christenings, weddings and burials. Manuscript records and printed information revealing the presence of artists in the fortified town of Timişoara in the first half of the 19th century

Jan. 1, 2017

Abstract

The first half of the 19th century provided the areas from Banat with a certain degree of material prosperity, which could be closely pursued in the county’s capital, Timişoara. Although it preserved a prevalent military character, the town also comprised numerous civilians (noblemen living in the town, clerks, traders, doctors, teachers etc.) who gradually secured the commodity market for the art products. The orders of this social class had drawn the artists of the time towards the Empire’s eastern area, where they hoped to ensure their livelihood from their creation, which was paid more or less. Among these travelling artists – painters, drawers, gilders, engravers, stucco workers and, more seldom, sculptors – there had already been some who could be proud of their academic artistic training. Thus, K. Brocky, B. Schäffer, A. Faix, I. Neugass, N. Aleksić, J. Krämer or H. Dunajszky had graduated from the Art Academies of the great European centres (Vienna, Berlin, München). They were the ones who conducted the Central European art – even if only for a short period of time, as long as they worked here – towards the areas of Timiş county. Besides well-known artists, there were some other painters (J. Fiala, K. Daniel, S. Petrović, I. Vizkelety), living in the town, and specialised in local workshops, who contributed to the improvement of public preferences: they made portraits, frescoes, historical and religious paintings, guild flags or miniatures, they adorned the sleeping partners’ churches and houses. Some of the works created by the artists in the first half of the century were preserved in family and museum collections. Another aspect of their presence in the town is certified by Registers of births, marriages and burials (Civil registries), the List of Citizens, the private notes/records of the time or by the newspapers/weekly papers letting the eager public know about their specialized services. The confirmation of more documents allows us to outline a dynamic artistic life in the fortified town during the first half of the 19th century while emphasizing new data regarding the biography and creation of some of these artists.