(Gotha 1725–1806 Vienna)
An Allegory of the hope for a new peaceful age,
dated 1790 lower right on the obelisk with the coat-of-arms of the Princes of Liechtenstein,
oil and gouache on canvas, 64 x 79 cm, framed

Wilhelm Beyer, one of the most important and influential artists in Vienna at his time, is mainly known as a sculptor. However, he was also given credit for his training as a painter when he was employed as ‘court painter and statuarius’ at the Vienna court in 1770. Traces from all stations in the life of this multitalented artist, including his principal work, the design of the Gardens of Schönbrunn Palace (1773–1780), can be detected in the present allegory. The overall composition reveals a strong affinity for mythology. Beyer had formerly been a professor for history, mythology, iconology, and sculpture at the Stuttgart Academy. Although his training as a painter in Paris and the completion of his education in Italy are mentioned in encyclopaedic biographies, it is difficult to reconstruct his drawn and painted oeuvres as he hardly ever signed his works. Lacking signatures, terracotta sculptures amongst the masterpieces of the Vienna Belvedere and the Louvre, were only identified as works by Beyer in 1927 and 2002 respectively. These attributions are based on comparisons with uncontested works by Beyer in porcelain (Ludwigsburg porcelain factory) and marble (Gardens of Schönbrunn Palace). For the attribution of the present allegory, Beyer’s works in porcelain and marble equally served as points of reference, in addition to a copper engraving with regard to the characteristic detail of the three Graces.

A typical device of Beyer’s is the contrapposto of the central Grace. The engaged leg and free leg, the latter touching the ground only with the tip of its foot, cross. The dynamic posture typical of numerous of Beyer’s creations in porcelain, marble, and prints derives from such a twist of the body. Beyer particularly stands out for this pose, which appears in his works repeatedly, such as in Artemisia (Ludwigsburg porcelain sculpture), Time Unveiling Veritas (terracotta, Belvedere, Vienna, Harpocrates (marble, Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Vienna, for the copper engraving, and Meleager (marble, Gardens of Schönbrunn Palace). The attribution is corroborated by Beyer’s work on garden architecture Die neue Muse oder der Nationalgarten [The New Muse or the National Garden] (1784). Parts of the mythological protagonists appearing there also populate the present painting: satyrs, Venus, Apollo, and the Three Graces. The wings of sleeping Cronus in the foreground of the present painting almost literally quote a copper engraving, where they belong to a swan affectionately embraced by Leda.

The painter evidently did not quote the Graces from ancient mythology but depicted living persons. Indeed, the princely Liechtenstein family, whose coat of arms can be seen on the monument in the form of a column nearby, included three beautiful young ladies at the time when the painting was executed in 1790: first, Princess Karoline (born in 1768), wife of Aloys I, the ruling Prince of Liechtenstein; second, Princess Maria Josepha Hermengilde of Liechtenstein (born in 1768), wife of Prince Nikolaus II Esterházy de Galantha, from 1794 on Prince of Esterházy; and third, Landgravine Maria Josefa Sophie of Fürstenberg-Weitra (born in 1776), the youngest, who married, like the other two, when she was only fifteen years old, becoming the wife of Prince Johann I Joseph of Liechtenstein (1760–1836), the dynasty’s ruling prince from 1805 on.
Mercury has come running to crown Apollo with a princely hat. Apollo’s pointing to the column bearing the Liechtenstein coat-of-arms with his finger is meant to signify the princely family as patrons of the arts. Minerva as the sponsor of wisdom and science is shown standing near the heraldic emblem.

The composition, consisting of multiple scenes, is highly political. It symbolises the hope that rushed social change would come to an end for the sake of some higher reason. In the picture, satyrs, symbols of a Dionysian way of life, attack the high priest of the Temple of Reason. Snakes are meant to show the latter’s slyness and falseness. The artist rendered his face as the profile of Denis Diderot, an exponent of the encyclopaedists who had spread the new ideas of the Enlightenment among the people. Now they are to be punished for its consequences and its implementation, which had been partly delayed and partly reckless. Some of Emperor Joseph II’s progressive ideas could only be realised with some delay.