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winged boy offers a plate of delicacies to a beauty
draped over a settee, while a small putto pours the
wine. Amor surveys the scene with curiosity – who
will be hit by his arrow? The small one behind him knows
already: his bow is drawn.
These are the motifs on the ceiling paintings in the dining
car of the Austrian Imperial Train – they show a cheerful,
lighthearted world full of sensual and enjoyable pleasures, as
if there were no worries, as if one were not at the threshold
of a new era brought about by many technical innovations.
This luxury, these carefree times – are they gone for
good? No. The sense of exclusivity once reserved for
the high and mighty can now be enjoyed by anyone. It
has come back, the Court Salon Train of the Habsburgs,
once one of the most beautiful and extravagant trains in
the world. It runs again, just as it did then, conveying the
delightful feeling of belonging to a society that seemed to
have vanished for good. However, its splendor shines again
today, and its destiny may even determine our present in
many ways as one of the foundations of our much-admired
culture. Our lives may have become more matter-of-fact,
which is possibly one of the reasons that our desire for
luxury has increased, a luxury that has no other purpose
than to bring joy. What has also remained is the desire for a
harmony that mediates between art and technology, that can
make us forget our daily problems and lets us plunge into a
world of dreams.
A
Ceiling paintings in the Imperial Dining Car
(PO)
The Imperial-Royal
COURT TRAIN