The nineteenth century—obsessed as it was with history—abounded with representations of historical events in the fine arts. In this substantial study, Werner Telesko investigates and catalogues for the very first time the interdependence between the Habsburg dynasty and the depiction of historical events in the visual arts. “The primary aim of the present study is to emphasize the role and the variegated meaning of history [Historie] and ‘Historienkunst’ in the nineteenth century Habsburg monarchy, and to shed light on the different mythologizing (Mythisierungen) of epochs of Austrian history as an eminent theme in its history of reception [Rezeptionsgeschichte]” (13). Taking into account all pictorial genres and categories—discussing numerous “signal images” of historical events as well as exemplary images of military splendor—Telesko demonstrates the significance of the visual arts as medium of identification, as an intermediating instrument that facilitated communication between the ruler and the beholders, between the patrons and recipients, without atrophying to “political art” and solely serving power interests. The works of art imparted identity and alterity, an aspect particularly obvious in contemporary literary sources. Telesko's study analyzes these visual and textual media and explores their relation in a convincing manner for the first time, thereby providing the key to a better understanding of Austrian Historienkunst.

The monograph under review is the first installment of a projected two-volume series. The first volume concentrates on the Gesamtstaat, the specific construction of the Austrian monarchy, as an overarching complex entity comprising heterogeneous ethnicities and territories. The second part, due to appear next year, will shift the focus and elaborate on the complexity and plurality of the empire's regions. Together the volumes make available to a broader audience the findings of Telesko's research during the three years he held an APART-fellowship (Austrian Program for Advanced Research and Technology) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Ten well-structured chapters discuss the iconography of historical representation, drawing on well-known and numerous lesser-known works of art totaling 232 images that accompany and illustrate Telekso's narrative. Chapters 1 and 2 are introductory pieces; they serve as conceptual clarification and situate the volume within the current discourse on “identities,” the “politics of memory,” and the constitution of a canon (Kanonbildung). The intricate historical construction of the Austrian nation is traced from the “Casa de Austria” via the Habsburg Gesamtstaat, and its layers of meaning are connected to crucial historical events from the immediate aftermath of the French Revolution to the reign of Francis Joseph.

The subsequent chapters evince the visual strategies of the legitimization of the Austrian Kaisertum after 1804 and reveal the coeval integration of ethnicities and regions of the monarchy. Telesko shows how the allegiance to the Habsburg dynasty as a foundational element of the state was evident on the basis of the iconography of Maria Theresa and Joseph II. The cultural memory of the nineteenth century stabilized still-prevalent images, the integrative “maternal ideology” ascribed to Maria Theresa, and the polarizing Josephine ideology, depicting the emperor as absolute ruler of the empire (Lenker des Imperiums) and enlightened popular sovereign (Volkskaiser). Telesko's discussion of the monuments of Joseph II and their political instrumentalization yields rich illustrative material and substantiates his emphasis on the political impact of this specific Josephine iconography.

The imperial iconography of Francis II (I) from the establishment of the Austrian Kaisertum and after the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire was marked by a quest for origins and by a foundational myth, both designed to evoke safety and continuity. Imperial imagery in the period conjured up the Habsburgs' progenitor, Rudolf I, thus linking the present to the past and thereby bolstering the legitimacy of the present as “historically justified and historically developed” (256).

Consistent with the trajectories of monarchical self-description, imperial iconography from Francis II (I) to Francis Joseph reflects the tension between dynastic representation and national identity. The increased dissemination of imperial portraits, facilitated by the techniques of medial reproduction, permitted a high degree of circulation among the public. Typified and stylized images met expectations “from below,” and imperial portraits produced for special imperial occasions fulfilled evolving requirements of representation “from above.” Telesko contrasts the decidedly bourgeois style adopted by Francis II (I) with the markedly aristocratic self-fashioning of Francis Joseph. The emperor's love for his peoples and popular love of the emperor, both propagandist leitmotifs that the Habsburgs utilized throughout the nineteenth century, mirrored an “emotionalized patriarchalism” (135). Subsisting harmoniously with Francis Joseph's name, which recalled both Habsburg neoabsolutism and Josephinism, his imperial iconography showed an unprecedented “broad diversification of iconographic typologies [Typenbildungen]” (206). At the same time it is possible to identify a “harmonization of poses.”

The “sacralization” and mythologizing of Francis Joseph, which drew on immediately understandable iconographic schemata and mythic narratives of the Habsburg past, culminated in the celebrations of the emperor's jubilee in 1908. The pictorial popularization of the emperor in medal art finally communicated a relinquishing of personality (Selbstentäußerung and Entpersönlichung) in favor of a “fulfillment of the duties imparted by the monarchical office” (253).

The last chapters explore nineteenth-century Austrian historiography as a “rediscovery of the country” (313). They contain reflections on the most popular images of Austrian history and the implicit interpretations contained therein. They also explore strategies of Austrian military iconography as a means of encouraging the population to emulate soldierly virtues. The final chapter is devoted to the pantheon in the Arsenal that represents Austrian history “between heroic apotheosis and national pedagogy” (393).

A rich corpus of annotations and a thorough bibliography of nearly sixty pages supplement the narrative. The index is extremely helpful and also makes this book practical as a work of reference.