The Creation of New Visual Content in Altar Sculpture: an Overview of the Neo‑Gothic Altars in the Catholic Cathedral of Timişoara
The Creation of New Visual Content in Altar Sculpture: an Overview of the Neo‑Gothic Altars in the Catholic Cathedral of Timişoara

Summary/Abstract: To understand the relationship between art and ideology during this period, the present study highlights the complex interactions between artistic creations and their historical context, emphasizing the importance of critique and interpretation within a timeframe defined by the idea of national revival. In Austro-Hungarian Banat, this revival acquired unique dimensions through the resemanticization of visually impactful concepts that directed the viewer towards the glorious past of medieval Hungary. We will explore this notion of nationhood as promoted through art, specifically through the artistic vision of sculptor Joannes Müller in 1856, in the composition of two neo-Gothic altars. These structures employ a universal visual language that connects the present to the past through recurring, established iconographies. Such symbolic images translate the politics of the period into a visual discourse, manifesting as a form of visual propaganda for the moment of state, legislative, cultural, and religious consolidation of the Kingdom of Hungary, particularly during the reigns of the canonized kings Stephen and Ladislaus, as well as Duke Emeric. As this examination serves as an introduction to the history of the genre in 19th-century Banat, we will employ a range of analytical approaches, situating the discussion within the methodological framework of art history.

• Details
• Contents