• 1Court Life in the Age of Enlightenment
  • 2Perspectives of Knowledge
  • 3The Birth of History
  • 4Far and Near
  • 5Love and Sensibility
  • 6Back to Nature
  • 7The Dark Sides
  • 8Emancipation and the Public Sphere
  • 9The Revolution of Art
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Home - Introduction - Emancipation and the Public Sphere

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Anna Dorothea Therbusch (1721C1782)
Henriette Herz, 1778
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie

 

The Enlightenment was the epoch that saw the emergence of the public sphere. Along with parts of the nobility the bourgeoisie now formed the influential educated class. Emancipated men and women founded social clubs based on the principles of liberalism and equal rights. The central medium of the Enlightenment was initially the word and new channels of discussion and criticism emerged in publishing and the theatre. However, the image also gained greater social relevance. Printed art developed into a mass medium: it made knowledge available to wide audiences and became an instrument of political influence. Exhibitions and public museums enabled everyone to access education. Artistic freedom and social commitment became the fundamental claims of the Modern Age.

 

Marie-Gabrielle Capet (1761C1818)
Atelierszene, 1808
Bayerische Staatsgem.ldesammlungen, Neue Pinakothek, Mnchen

Anna Dorothea Therbusch (1721C1782)
Henriette Herz, 1778
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie