engleski

The everyday life of cadets at the Wiener Neustadt Military Academy, as portrayed in the paintings of Bernhard Albrecht (1785-1793)

In late 1779, the Bohemian Count and Austrian Army officer, Franz Joseph Kinsky, (1739-1805), became the junior director of the Theresian Military Academy at Wiener Neustadt. There he could translate his Enlightenment theoretical concepts about education into reality. Alongside the writings of Kinsky himself, various cadets and historians of the Academy, there are thirteen gouache paintings by Bernhard Albrecht (1755-1822), which provide a valuable visual source for researching the everyday life of this elite imperial military institution. They illustrate the cadets indulging in activities such as riding, gymnastics, drill and manoeuvres, sport and games, swimming and even ice skating. The paintings were first hung in the imperial guest house and later, in the art room at the Academy. These days, eleven paintings are stored in the Military Academy’s Museum, but two are held at the Heeresgeschichtliches (Military History) Museum in Vienna. The purpose of this paper is to compare the painted images of these activities with Kinsky’s own Enlightenment views on physical education.

Wiener Neustadt Military Academy, cadets, physical education, Bernhard Albrecht, Franz Joseph Kinsky

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