Max Reinhardt's Music Parlor
Originally Max Reinhardt’s music parlor, the Venetian Room showcases 18th-century Venetian panels depicting scenes from Commedia dell’arte, a theatrical form Reinhardt deeply admired.
Installed during Schloss renovations in 1930, the panels and mirrors were purchased from an Italian palazzo and are now protected as part of Austria’s national heritage.
Even the Arlecchino-inspired floor pattern reflects Reinhardt’s creative vision—though financial constraints led him to improvise, covering simpler planks with a rug, just as we do today.
Commedia dell’arte: Theatrical Roots and Radical Spirit
Commedia dell’arte emerged in 16th-century Italy as a bold, improvisational theater rooted in curiosity, satire, and transformation. With stock characters and expressive masks, it democratized performance and celebrated every person’s power to tell their story.
Commedia dell’arte was revolutionary in its inclusion of women and egalitarian spirit. Max Reinhardt saw it as a foundation of modern theater, blending acting, music, movement, and design into unified works—an approach reflected throughout the Schloss and his productions.
A Room of Contrasts and Continuities
The Venetian Salon embodies layers of cultural complexity: 18th-century copies of 17th-century scenes, installed by a Jewish theater director in a former archbishop’s palace, later inspiring “The Sound of Music.”
Today, figures like Arlecchino—shown with darkened masks or painted faces—raise new questions. While once a theatrical norm, such imagery invites critical reflection, adding to the evolving meanings held within these historic walls.