Die Erdteile im Blick des 18. und 21. Jh.

The following presentation is part of an assignment carried out for the project course „Barocke Erdteilallegorien Umgang mit Bildquellen in digitalen Wissenschaftsräumen“ at the University of Vienna’s Department of History. The course took place in the summer term 2013. It shows the allegorical frescoes representing the four corners of the earth (or continents in modern day parlance) situated in the main hall of the Estates House of Lower Austria. They were created by the Italian painter Antonio Beduzzi in 1710. The presentation then compares them to our modern day allegories, newspaper caricatures.

The presentation shows that our perception of the world has changed greatly and has become more diversified, and, whilst the allegories present a powerful Europe, caricatures today are often unsure about Europe’s place in the world.