CANEVALE, Isidore

Josephinum, a medical/surgical academy for the training of military doctors (also called Josephs-Akademie), was founded by Joseph II in 1785. Closed from 1849-1854, then reopened. It remained an educational establishment for army doctors until 1874.

The Josephinum building, built in 1783-1785 in Neoclassical style according to plans by Isidore Canevale, with a fountain (Hygieiabrunnen) by J. Johann Martin Fischer in the courtyard (Ehrenhof), was used for courses for army doctors in the years 1875-1883, and for a school of applied medicine for military doctors from 1900 to 1918. Today it houses, among other institutions, the Institute of Medical History, with an impressive collection of anatomical and obstetrical wax models (from 1920 onwards).

The photo shows the exterior of the building seen from the courtyard.

In Canevale’s design for the fa�ade of the cathedral in V�c architectural elements are set against a windowless wall. The fa�ade was planned as the focus of a square which was to be framed by colonnades in the manner of St. Peter’s in Rome. The side fa�ades of the church are indeed noticeably small and show a marked resemblance to the church of Sant’Anderea in Mantua by Leon Battista Alberti.

In the interior, too, Canevale continued the �Baroque tradition magnificently represented by Franz Anton Maulbertsch’s monumental ceiling fresco.

The cathedral in V�c served as a model for other Hungarian churches, such as the cathedrals at Esztergom, Eger, and Szombathely, all of which eagerly sought to express a monumental Neoclassical style, though in a less consistent fashion.

In Canevale’s design for the fa�ade of the cathedral in V�c architectural elements are set against a windowless wall. The fa�ade was planned as the focus of a square which was to be framed by colonnades in the manner of St. Peter’s in Rome. The side fa�ades of the church are indeed noticeably small and show a marked resemblance to the church of Sant’Anderea in Mantua by Leon Battista Alberti.

In the interior, too, Canevale continued the �Baroque tradition magnificently represented by Franz Anton Maulbertsch’s monumental ceiling fresco.

The cathedral in V�c served as a model for other Hungarian churches, such as the cathedrals at Esztergom, Eger, and Szombathely, all of which eagerly sought to express a monumental Neoclassical style, though in a less consistent fashion.

The first shot in the architectural war against Baroque frivolity in the lands of the Habsburgs was fired by Isidore Canevale in the Hungarian town of V�c, where he erected a triumphal arch and Cathedral for Cardinal Migazzi. The arch was commissioned by Migazzi to mark a visit by the royal couple. The radical nature of its form was impressive, as was the fact that it was not simply built from temporary material as a festival arch. As one of the first permanent triumphal arches, it heralded the arrival of this type of structure in the 18th century.

Giuseppe Piermarini’s designs for the Josephinum in Vienna were thoroughly reworked by Canevale, especially in the interior, so that no trace of the Baroque survives. Used as an academy of medicine and surgery, Canevale planned the arrangement of space and ornamentation strictly according to utilitarian considerations. In the library, the ceiling is supported by simple cast-iron columns. Composed of three wings and separated from the street by a grille fence, the building is part of the General Hospital complex, which Joseph II based on similar buildings in Paris. It has been described as Vienna’s last Baroque building.

The photo shows the interior of the library.

After work in Hungary, Canevale arrived in Vienna, becoming Emperor Joseph II’s court architect. In this capacity, he had, amongst other things, special responsibility for the outskirts of the city. Just as Joseph introduced a new style in politics to the Hofburg, so too Canevale broke with the tradition of Viennese Baroque.

As a court architect, Canevale was responsible for the royal parks, the Augarten and Prater, which Joseph II opened to the general public. The portal of the Augarten is a demonstration of Canevale’s knowledge of French Revolutionary Neoclassicism. The semi-circular arch of the gateway is crowned by a heavy attic, and it is adjoined on both sides by tripartite entrances, which in turn are flanked by guardhouses in rusticated stonework.