Artwork

Representation in Schönbrunn by the Archduchesses of Austria of the entertainment Il Parnasso confuso, January 24, 1765

Representation in Schönbrunn by the Archduchesses of Austria of the entertainment Il Parnasso confuso, January 24, 1765 is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Georg Weikert. It dates from 1790 and is held in the collection of the Palace of Versailles.

About this work

Technique & Style

The composition reflects the Rococo decorative vocabulary while maintaining a theatrical staging appropriate to the court entertainment it records.

The work is an oil painting on canvas, measuring 280 cm by 212 cm, created in 1778 by Georg Weikert. It depicts symbolic elements associated with Il Parnasso confuso, including a crown, lyre, Pegasus, poignard, sceptre and theatrical masks. The composition reflects the Rococo decorative vocabulary while maintaining a theatrical staging appropriate to the court entertainment it records.

The surface handling shows typical 18th‑century oil technique with layered glazing to achieve depth in the drapery and foliage.

History & Provenance

The painting depicting the January 24, 1765 entertainment Il Parnasso confuso at Schönbrunn was created by Georg Weikert in 1778. Executed in oil on canvas, the work measures 280 cm in height and 212 cm in width. Although the scene portrays an event from 1765, the artwork itself dates from over a decade later.

The piece entered the collection of the Palace of Versailles in France, where it is currently held by the Museum of the History of France. Its provenance is recorded under inventory numbers MV 3944, INV 2182, and B 1904 within the national museums of France.

The painting is held in the collection of the Museum of the History of France, located within the Palace of Versailles in France. It is cataloged under the inventory numbers MV 3944, INV 2182, and B 1904. The work is attributed to the Austrian school and depicts a specific operatic performance that took place in Schönbrunn on January 24, 1765.

While the artwork is part of the national French museum collections and documented in the Joconde database, the available records do not list specific past exhibitions or loan history for this piece.

Overview

Georg Weikert’s oil on canvas, completed in 1790, records a courtly performance held at the Schönbrunn Palace on 24 January 1765. The work portrays four aristocratic women in elaborate eighteenth‑century attire, arranged outdoors before a turbulent sky where a faint silhouette of Pegasus can be seen. The composition combines elements of theatrical staging with mythological reference, and the painting now belongs to the collection of the Palace of Versailles.

Subject & Meaning

The four figures appear to reenact a scene from the entertainment titled Il Parnasso confuso, a courtly opera or masque. One woman holds a scroll, suggesting the presentation of a libretto or decree, while another fans herself, and a third kneels, evoking reverence. The distant Pegasus alludes to the poetic inspiration of the performance, linking the event to classical mythology and the elevated status of the archduchesses who commissioned it.

Context

Il Parnasso confuso was part of a series of elaborate entertainments staged at the Habsburg court, reflecting the Enlightenment’s fascination with classical themes and the use of music, dance, and costume to display political prestige. The inclusion of Pegasus aligns the performance with the tradition of invoking the muses, while the presence of a crown underscores the sovereign context of the occasion.