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Salon Paris

Marvel at the wonderful ceiling painting, a masterpiece by Carl Rahl called “Judgment of Paris”.

Salon Paris

Dining Room with Winter Garden

The history of the Salons

The interior design of the Ringstrasse palaces was just as important as their exterior and facades. Every detail was carefully planned to create a complete work of art. In the Palais Todesco, designed by Theophil Hansen for Eduard and Moritz Todesco, nothing was left to chance. The interior of these palace rooms is one of the finest examples of historicist architecture in Vienna.

When the newly completed palace opened its doors for the first time on May 5, 1864, for the wedding of Eduard’s daughter Fanny to Henry de Worms, it was widely admired and praised in the press. One article said, “The goal of art, the harmonious collaboration of all three sister arts, has triumphed in the magnificent dining room of Vienna’s Farnesina.”

Hansen and the painter Carl Rahl were said to have had complete creative freedom, which resulted in a perfect harmony in the rooms. Everything, from the sideboard to the footstool, from the chandelier to the smallest door handles, was designed with a unified sense of beauty.

The dining room in Palais Todesco was unique among Hansen’s Viennese buildings, with architectural detailing provided by pilasters. The ceiling is richly decorated with gilded stucco, a level of decoration usually reserved for grand ballrooms.

Christian Griepenkerl (1839-1916), who was responsible for most of the painting in Palais Todesco, also taught at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, where Egon Schiele was one of his students. Griepenkerl played a key role in rejecting Adolf Hitler’s application to the academy. His artistic work was closely tied to Carl Rahl’s studio, and Griepenkerl was responsible for transferring Eduard Bitterlich’s detailed sketches into paintings.

The Wall Painting (click for details)
The nine wall paintings, which form a frieze around the room, depict events from the life of the legendary Paris. Each painting is accompanied by a title in real gold. The frieze starts on the wall next to the former billiard room and continues along the walls, only interrupted by large windows and the winter garden, which is now a cloakroom. The series ends on the wall near the former ballroom, with the central painting focusing on the wounding of Paris, the only painting with a different format.
The Ceiling Painting "The Judgement of Paris" (click for details)

The ceiling features a classic coffered design, typical of historicist architecture. The central oval painting, by Christian Griepenkerl, depicts “The Judgment of Paris.” Surrounding it are personifications of Nemesis (goddess of justice), Fortuna (goddess of fortune), Elpis (goddess of hope), and one of the Moirai (fates of Greek mythology), all seated on clouds. Each is distinguished by their attributes, such as Fortuna with her cornucopia, Elpis leaning on an anchor, and Nemesis holding a whip.

Paris is shown with Mercury and Cupid, sitting in judgment of the three goddesses: Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera. The scene captures the moment Paris gives Aphrodite the golden apple, promising him the most beautiful woman in the world.

The rectangular sections of the ceiling depict Ilion, the personification of Troy, and Eris, the goddess of discord. Ilion is shown as a mourning woman, while Eris, with her snake wreath and torch, holds the golden apple that sparked the conflict among the gods. Eros and Nike appear in the oval sections of the ceiling, painted in shades of gray.

Karl Lotz painted five of the nine ceiling panels, closely following Rahl’s sketches. Both Griepenkerl and Lotz adhered to a consistent academic painting style, ensuring a unified aesthetic throughout.

The Winter Garden (click for details)

The dining room opens into a glass-enclosed bay with a former marble fountain in the center, suggesting it was once a winter garden. This feature, borrowed from noble palaces, symbolized the mastery of nature. In the 19th century, these baroque-style artificial gardens were reduced in size to small enclosed spaces with fountains, offering a touch of nature to the wealthy residents of the Ringstrasse palaces.

Floor plan
Eduard Todesco
Theophil Hansen

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Deckengemälde Urteil des Paris

Mythologie

DAS URTEIL DES PARIS

Der trojanische Krieg hatte seine Ursache im Streit dreier Göttinnen während der Hochzeit von Peleus und Thetis um den Schönheitspreis, den goldenen Apfel der Eris. Alle Götter waren zum Hochzeitsmahl eingeladen, nur nicht Eris, die Göttin der Zwietracht, die daher einen Apfel unter die Gäste warf, um den sich Hera, Athene und Aphrodite stritten. Der Göttervater Jupiter scheute klugerweise eine Einmischung in den Streit der Göttinnen und bestimmte, der trojanische Prinz Paris, der schönste aller Männer, solle das Urteil fällen. Hera versprach ihm Macht, nämlich die Königsherrschaft über Asien und Europa, Athene lockte mit Kriegsruhm und Heldentum, doch Aphrodite erhielt den Apfel, da sie ihm Helena, die schönste Frau auf Erden in Aussicht gestellt hatte. Doch Helena war bereits mit König Menelaos von Sparta verheiratet. Paris entführte sie mit Hilfe von Aphrodite nach Troja und löste damit einen blutigen Krieg zwischen Griechenland und Troja aus.
Wintergarten-Salon-Paris

Salon Paris

WINTERGARTEN

Der Speisesaal öffnet sich in einen hofseitig vorgebauten verglasten Erker, dessen Marmorbrunnen in der Mitte die Vermutung nahelegt, es habe sich um einen Wintergarten gehandelt. Als eine exemplarische Übernahme aus dem Adelspalast erweist sich der Wintergarten, der, ebenso wie der Naturgarten im Barock, Dokumentation der erreichten Herrschaft des Menschen über die Natur ist. Der barocke Wintergarten wird jetzt zum minimierten Gartensurrogat für die begüterte Schicht an der Ringstraße. Die barocken künstlichen Gärten mit Grotten und Wasserspielen reduzieren sich im Palais des 19. Jahrhunderts auf die Größe eines Vorzimmers oder Erkers mit Tischspringbrunnen.

Eduard von Todesco

Entrepreneur and Private Banker

EDUARD TODESCO

Eduard Todesco (1814-1887), who came from a Hungarian-Jewish family, was one of the most influential businessmen and private bankers in the Habsburg Monarchy during the second half of the 19th century. After the Revolution of 1848, he gained recognition from the state through his generous purchases of government bonds and his charitable donations. As a result, he was knighted in 1861 and elevated to the rank of baron in 1869.

Todesco was part of the so-called “second society,” the financial aristocracy, which had a complex relationship with the high nobility. From the 18th century, and especially in the 19th century, this group became the elite of the rising, liberal, and imperial-loyal bourgeoisie. Together with his younger brother Moritz (1816-1873), Eduard inherited a vast fortune after the death of their father Hermann and managed the family bank “Hermann Todesco’s Sons.” Eduard and his wife Sophie had three daughters, Franziska (Fanny), Anna (Netti), and Gabriele (Yella), as well as a son, Hermann, who tragically died at the age of 27 following a carriage accident.

Theophil Hansen

Architect

THEOPHIL HANSEN

Theophil Hansen (1813-1891) was one of the most important architects in Austria during the 19th century. Born on July 13, 1813, in Copenhagen, he studied at the city’s Academy of Fine Arts, where he was introduced to Danish Classicism, primarily by his brother and teacher, Hans Christian Hansen.

In 1838, Theophil followed his brother to Greece. On his way, he passed through Berlin, where he was greatly influenced by the works of Karl Friedrich Schinkel. In Northern Italy, especially in Venice, he studied the architecture of Andrea Palladio. In Greece, he delved into ancient Greek architecture, though Byzantine architecture also had a profound impact on him, influencing his early style in Vienna.

In 1846, Christian Ludwig Förster invited Hansen to Vienna. Their collaboration was strengthened by Hansen’s marriage to Förster’s daughter, but it ended after her death. Hansen became one of the key architects behind the development of Vienna’s Ringstrasse. His most notable works from the 1860s include the Evangelical School at Karlsplatz, the Vienna Musikverein building, and the Palais Erzherzog Wilhelm on Parkring (now the OPEC building). Hansen referred to his style as “Greek Renaissance” and placed great emphasis on the interior design of his buildings.