Empress Elisabeth, Franz X. Winterhalter, 1865

One of the most famous portrait paintings by Franz Xaver Winterhalter depicts the then 28-year-old Empress Elisabeth in full gala dress with diamond stars in her hair. These splendid and oft-imitated stars were made in different styles: with eight or ten points, and with or without pearls.

Belated reappearance

One of the set of ten-pointed stars with pearls at the centre was made available as a private loan for the great Empress Elisabeth Exhibition in 1998 in Schönbrunn Palace, but disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Ten years later the star reappeared in Canada and again went back to Austria in 2008. It is now being bought by Schloss Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

From January live

Since 27th January 2010 this original piece of jewellery, which is also depicted in a portrait of the Empress by Carl Höflmayer, is presented in its own high-security display cabinet as a permanent exhibit at the Sisi Museum.

When it comes to its appearance, Schönbrunn Palace has many noticeable features. One particularly eye-catching feature is its colour: a bright yellow, which is inextricably linked with the palace by virtue of its name.

Strictly speaking, Schönbrunn Yellow is simply gold ochre, a rusty colour that can appear either lighter or darker, depending upon how it is mixed with chalk. However, the Habsburg’s “little joke” of painting not just their Summer Residence in Vienna, but also all official buildings, in Schönbrunn Yellow, as well as the willingness with which the bourgeoisie adopted this “fashion”, mean that since the end of the monarchy in 1918, if, indeed, not before, this colour has become world famous. In fact it has become something of a legend.

Legends always carry a hint of the mysterious with them, and Schönbrunn Yellow is no exception with its suitably interesting history. Its appearance alone has been extremely changeable over the centuries.

Ochre was always the key ingredient, but it is a natural pigment and therefore extremely changeable depending on the source and preparation. In the course of the numerous extension and renovation phases of the palace, it showed off its many different shades.

Colour schemes

Current knowledge and tests in the laboratories of the Austrian Bundesdenkmalamt (Federal Office for the Care of Monuments) tell us that during the first phase of building, under Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries,  the palace façade was a bright red (brick colour) and off-white.

During the large scale extensions and renovations for Empress Maria Theresa (from 1743) under Nikolaus Pacassi, the palace was first painted a dark ochre with white outlines. This was soon replaced with a light golden yellow shade of ochre with light grey outlines. In 1780 under Emperor Joseph II, Schönbrunn Palace was given a still lighter ochre coloured façade (with a slight pink tint) with white or pale beige outlines.

In yet another renovation phase in the early 19th century under Johann Aman, Schönbrunn Palace was decorated in a monochrome sandstone colour which had a slightly greeenish tinge. And then there was a reversion to the gold ochre colour which had been used under Empress Maria Theresia, and the painting in the now typical Schönbrunn Yellow began; a two-colour scheme, with dark rectangular surfaces and lighter coloured outlines.

Origins

Ochre’s colourful appearance over the centuries is linked to various facts and stories about its origins and the reasons why it came to be used.

In general a coat of paint is used in place of expensive materials (usually stone) and has the advantage that it allows the introduction of certain stylistic elements. Because of its characteristic qualities, gold ochre, preferably from France or Italy, had been especially popular for prestigious buildings since the Baroque era. However, it was also expensive. The ochre used at Schönbrunn came from Bohemia, where the Habsburgs had supply pits. So was this a question of thrift, or perhaps an astute move to boost the economy?

Colour mixing

Last, but not least, attempts to define Schönbrunn Yellow with a single formula have only resulted in approximations. Time and weathering have left their mark. In general, in earlier renovations, the existing shade was used to determine the colour for the new coat of paint, taking no account of how it had been affected by environmental factors. Consequently, shades which were once much lighter have grown darker with each renovation. In contrast to this, the current colour selection for Schönbrunn Palace is based on the lighter Schönbrunn Yellow shade used in the first half of the 19th century.

A colour value system developed in Sweden provides us with helpful guidelines. According to the Natural Colour System, the values for the lighter Schönbrunn Yellow used today are between S 0510-Y 20 R and S0510-Y 10 R. and for the current darker shade between S0450-Y 10 R and S 0530_Y 10 R.

The high refractive index of the traditional crystalline chalk-based paints, like those which are now being used in renovation work at Schönbrunn Palace, means that, depending how the light falls on it, the colour can appear more or less intense, sometimes appearing to have a colder, sometimes a warmer colour value. By contrast, silicate-based paints are easier to apply, but lack the “shine” of chalk-based ones; they give stronger more uniform coverage, making them “dull”.

When redecorating at home it is always worth trying a colour sample. The same applies to large-scale restorations, and is just what the experts at Schönbrunn do.

Museum Sign Language Guide

As part of the Museum Sign Language Guide project, Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.  has been involved in the development of a high-quality guide system for deaf visitors. This involves the presentation of background information in the form of a specially produced sign language video. Following months of testing and ongoing improvements, the Museum Sign Language Guide is now available as a permanent service and constitutes a further important step towards making the museum area barrier-free.

The deaf face considerable access barriers to information every day. There is hardly any material available in their first language, sign language. Texts are often provided that are unsuited to the purpose of information communication. This is due to the fact that the sign language acquired has a grammar of its own that cannot be reproduced in writing. Written texts are therefore also difficult for the deaf to understand.

In the field of museums and exhibitions, the best solution has proven to be the provision of sign language videos that can be played back on suitable multimedia devices. The particular challenge in the development and implementation of such a guide system is to ensure the accuracy of the contents and the linguistic quality of the videos.

Schönbrunn Palace, in collaboration with sign language experts at equalizent Schulungs- und BeratungsgesmbH, has developed an optimised guide system . “The essential aspect in the development was to develop tests to ensure that the videos could be understood,” according to Petra Plicka of equalizent and one of the collaborators in the project. The sign language videos aim to take account of the latest knowledge about sign language. “For this reason, months of testing were used to gather comments by ‘native speakers’, i.e. people whose first language is sign language, and to integrate these comments so as to ensure across-the-board quality control,” continued Plicka.

In addition, the size of Schönbrunn Palace and hence the area for which guiding is provided, together with the international nature of the public constituted further specific requirements that had to be implemented. The Museum Sign Language Guide that is now permanently available, provides for instance the possibility of choosing the Imperial Tour with 22 rooms or the Grand Tour with 40 rooms. In the light of the international nature of the visitors, videos are available both in Austrian sign language and, for the first time, in the international sign language International Sign. The currently best technical solution is to use the Apple iPod touch© player. The technical implementation and software programming was the responsibility of NOUS Wissensmanagement GmbH.

The implementation of the Museum Sign Language Guide as a permanent service makes Schönbrunn Palace one of the few cultural institutions in Austria to make use of such a guide system. In terms of the quality of the videos and the provision of guides in International Sign, the service is as yet unique. “This pilot project is not only intended as a means of minimising the barriers to access to the cultural sites we manage, but will also provide an important basis for the further spread of high-quality sign language guides at national and international level,” explained Schönbrunn managing director Franz Sattlecker.

The Museum of Recent History (Celje, Slovenia) and Veste Coburg (Germany) are other museums involved in the project, which was carried out within the framework of the EU Grundtvig funding programme, the European programme for adult education.
For Schönbrunn Palace, the Museum Sign Language Guide constitutes a major addition to the existing facilities aimed at reducing access barriers, which include special tours for the blind and the visually impaired, or barrier-free wheelchair access to the display rooms.

As a backup measure, the display room staff have also undergone specific training and an introduction to sign language. The essential information on the website is also available in the form of a sign language video.
The use of the Museum Sign Language Guide is free of charge. The normal and reduced admission fees apply.

Further information about the Sign Language Guide (in ÖGS/IS).