Central Europe (including Germany), 1600–1800 A.D.

  • Central Europe (including Germany), 1600–1800 A.D.

Timeline

Overview

Continual warfare and political instability mark the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in central Europe. Throughout the period, the power of the Habsburg empire grows in Austria and Hungary but wanes in Germany, where Prussian and Saxon leaders wield increasing influence. When they are not actively engaged in warfare, however, the many wealthy noblemen competing for power in the region are happy to support the arts. Scores of artists are employed in Vienna, the Habsburg capital, but many more work in other burgeoning cities, such as Dresden, Munich, Berlin, Warsaw, Prague, and Bratislava. The rift between Catholics and Protestants continues to cause conflict, and dynastic struggles among ambitious princes engender continual violence. Despite these upheavals, however, the arts develop with unprecedented vigor. A distinctive and long-lived Baroque style is forged in Austria, and throughout the German-speaking countries, literature and music flourish along with architecture, painting, and industry.

Citation

“Central Europe (including Germany), 1600–1800 A.D.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?period=09&region=euwc (October 2003) 

Related