Prince Alois II von Liechtenstein
1796–1858
Moritz Michael Daffinger (1790–1849), Prince Alois II of Liechtenstein (1796–1858), from the Guestbook of Princess Melanie von Metternich (1805–1854), 16.4.1837
Predecessor
Prince Johann I von Liechtenstein
Successor
Prince Johann II von LiechtensteinInfluenced by the innovations he had encountered in England, Prince Alois II von Liechtenstein continued the modernization initiated by his two predecessors on the family estates. He renovated the City Palace on Bankgasse in Rococo Revival style, and his fondness for Britain also manifested itself in the remodelling of the palace at Eisgrub (Lednice) after Scots baronial models.
The eldest son of Johann I (1760–1836) and his wife Josepha Sophie, Alois II was born in Vienna on 25 May 1796. He married Countess Franziska Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1813–1881) on 8 August 1831. The couple had eleven children, including Alois II's successors Johann II (1840–1929) and Franz I (1853–1938). Alois II died at Eisgrub on 12 November 1858.
THE DECISION TO REMODEL THE PALACE ON BANKGASSE
In his ideas and actions, Prince Alois II was profoundly influenced by the great affinity he felt with England. He had a perfect command of the language and travelled there several times, becoming familiar with its culture and all the latest trends and developments. Influenced by English models, his taste in art manifested itself in his choice of architect, the Englishman Peter Hubert Desvignes (1804–1883), for his most important building projects. In Vienna he commissioned the remodelling of the Reigning Prince’s residence on Bankgasse, then called Vordere Schenkenstrasse. In Eisgrub (Lednice) he had the palace rebuilt in Gothic Revival style and a new hothouse erected.
Influenced by English models, the prince’s taste manifested itself in his choice of the architect Peter Hubert Desvignes for his most important building projects.
All these activities were preceded by a commission from the prince to the architect Heinrich Koch (1781–1861). Trained in the neoclassical school, he also worked for the aristocratic families of Kinsky and Dietrichstein. In what we today would call a feasibility study he was asked to ascertain which of the two palaces – that on Herrengasse or on Bankgasse – could be adapted as a contemporary palatial residence for the family ‘without significant outlay on building costs’. The decision fell in favour of the palace on Bankgasse, which following the complete removal of the gallery to the Garden Palace in the Rossau had been largely unoccupied. It had even been considered selling the building to the Austrian National Bank, before the choice for this fell on another plot on Bankgasse. While we do not know to what extent Koch’s plans were implemented, he received a fee of 2,000 gulden for his services in 1848.
In 1837 the prince leased the recently vacated Palais Rasumofsky in the extra-mural suburb of Landstrasse as temporary quarters, having it extensively adapted to the family’s needs. In 1838 he purchased the building outright and lived there for just under ten years until work had been finished on the palace on Bankgasse.
MODERN AND LUXURIOUS INTERIORS
In 1838 the English Constantinople-born architect Peter Hubert Desvignes assumed control over the remodelling of the Reigning Prince’s residence on Bankgasse. The main focus was the work on the interiors, which became ever more elaborate and costly. A major role was played by Michael Thonet (1796–1871), who under contract to the cabinet-maker Carl Leistler (1805–1857) created the intricate flooring of the state rooms using the new technique of steam-bending.
Leistler himself was responsible for the richly carved wood panelling and furniture. The silk brocades used for the wall hangings and upholstering the furniture were largely produced in Vienna. The piano nobile was filled with artworks from earlier periods but also featured contemporary art including examples of Biedermeier painting, which had recently taken the Viennese salons by storm. On 16 February 1848 the prince celebrated the opening of the new palace with a grand ball that was the talk of the city.
A major role was played by Michael Thonet, who under contract to the cabinet-maker Carl Leistler created the intricate flooring of the state rooms using the new technique of steam-bending.
THE ORIGINS OF THE PRINCELY BIEDERMEIER COLLECTION
Alois II was especially fond of Biedermeier painting. He knew the artists personally, buying works from their studios and commissioning many of the treasures that today still form the core of the princely house’s Biedermeier collection. The painters accompanied the life of the family, observing and recording the children as they grew up in drawings and watercolours. Portraits of great intimacy were created in this way, such as the likeness of little Marie Franziska von Liechtenstein asleep with her doll by Friedrich von Amerling (1803–1887), and the sketchbooks of almost miniature-like watercolours by Peter Fendi (1796–1842) that capture scenes from everyday family life.
The painters accompanied the life of the family, observing and recording the children as they grew up in drawings and watercolours.
Friedrich von Amerling’s monumental portrait of the six-year-old son and heir Johann II on his grey pony – almost unsurpassably extravagant in its richly carved and heavily gilded frame – was a dominant element in the décor of the remodelled piano nobile in the Reigning Prince’s residence in Vienna.
RECORDING PRINCELY LIFE
The artists often accompanied the princely hunting excursions. It was in the extensive meadows and forests along the rivers Morava and Thaya in north-east Lower Austria and southern Moravia that Friedrich Gauermann (1807–1862) made the lively animal sketches he used for the large-scale hunting pieces beloved of the high nobility.
Rudolf von Alt painted watercolours of the salons in Palais Rasumofsky, occupied by the prince from 1837 to 1847, and in the city palace, creating a unique document of nineteenth-century lifestyles and interiors.
Friedrich Gauermann’s brother-in-law Josef Höger (1801–1877) accompanied Prince Alois II on his travels, executing a series of powerful watercolours of the landscapes and villages they visited in the Salzkammergut. He was also drawing master to the prince’s children, who in keeping with family tradition enjoyed a wide-ranging education in the arts.
Rather like a photographer, Rudolf von Alt (1812–1905) painted watercolours of the salons in Palais Rasumofsky, occupied by the prince from 1837 to 1847, and the City Palace, creating a unique document of nineteenth-century lifestyles and interiors. Identifiable in these interior scenes are many paintings, watercolours and miniatures that are still held in the Princely Collections today.
While the décor is still indebted to the Biedermeier era, the dawning of the next epoch, Historicism, is already making itself felt, a style for which the prince was to develop an equal enthusiasm. With the remodelling of the City Palace he created the first extensive ensemble of the Rococo Revival. Towards the end of his life he also commissioned the architects Desvignes and Wingelmüller to remodel the family’s residence at Eisgrub in the picturesque Gothic Revival style based on Scottish Baronial architecture.
