Films with colour
What interests the scientist in particular at the moment is the ideological appropriation of art and architecture in feature films, for example in "Andreas Schlüter" from 1942. The important German Baroque sculptor and architect was appointed to the court of Elector Friedrich III in Berlin in 1694. "In the Nazi propaganda film, Schlüter became a leading figure who, among other things, rebelled against an unspecified French regime. This has very little to do with the historical truth. Rather, it is an ideological interpretation, which, however, skilfully pretends not to be one," explains Julian Blunk.
The researcher also analysed the GDR film "Goya", which is also strongly politically coloured. "The director turns the painter Francisco de Goya (1746-1828) into a figure who takes the side of the working class and peasantry, which only does the historical artist limited justice," says Blunk.

Buildings with a commitment
The revival of architectural styles in the 19th century and the ideas associated with them are another focus of Blunk's research. Whether neo-Gothic, neo-Baroque or neo-Renaissance: "Basically, it was always about using a style to form a social, national or confessional identity, usually exclusively," says the art historian. If, for example, Baroque was considered to be the art of absolutism, neo-Baroque buildings often became political statements of allegiance to the monarchy or the Restoration.
"In his 1773 essay 'On German Architecture', Goethe declared the Gothic style to be the 'old German style', i.e. the national heritage, which remained unchallenged for a long time, at least in Germany," says the academic, giving another example of this identity-forming potential. "The completion of Cologne Cathedral in the neo-Gothic style was accordingly a symbol of German unification."
At the same time, historicism had countless critics within its own ranks who recognised in the neo-styles, sometimes dependent on, sometimes independent of their ideological appropriation, only anaemic ghosts of their historical role models.

Julian Blunk studied in Bochum, taught and researched in Dresden, Paris and most recently at various universities in Berlin. Graz is very attractive to him from a cultural point of view, "because the city has a tremendously rich historical heritage and an extremely lively cultural scene. Thanks to its special proximity to several neighbouring countries, landscapes and cultural areas, it is a highly interesting melting pot and therefore worth living in every respect."

Gudrun Pichler