Styrian Table of Peoples

The Völkertafel

The Styrian Table of Peoples (German: Steirische Völkertafel) is an early 18th-century oil painting which shows stereotypical depictions of 10 different European peoples above a table of their purported characteristics. The painting provides an example of historic ethnic stereotypes.

Origin

The painter of the Völkertafel is unknown, as is its exact date of creation, but it is assumed to have been painted in the Styria region of Austria early 1700s.[1][2][3] There are at least six copies, and it is not possible to tell which is the original. The Völkertafel was likely based on a 1720 engraving by Joseph Friedrich Leopold.[4]

Of the 6 known extant copies, 3 are held at the Austrian Museum of Folk Life and Folk Art in Vienna, and the other 3 are held at museums in Bad Aussee, Moosham and Kloster Machern [de].

Content and analysis

The top of the table shows 10 figures, which correspond the countries of Spain, France, Italy, Germany, England, Sweden, Poland, Hungarian, Russia and Turkey/Greece. The table shows 17 characteristics such as manners, intellect or vices and charts how the people of the 10 nations correspond to these characteristics. The descriptions are harsher on the right side of the table, with Turkey/Greece shown in the most negative light.[4]

The table below shows the characteristics assigned to each nation in the Völkertafel, translated into English:

Short description of the peoples found in Europe and their characteristics
Spaniard Frenchman Italian German Englishman Swede Pole Hungarian Russian Turk or Greek
Appearance Haughty Frivolous Treacherous Openhearted Agreeable Strong and tall Boorish Disloyal Malicious (Changes) like April weather
Character and personality Wondrous Friendly and talkative Jealous Quite good Charming Cruel More cruel Most cruel Really Hungarian A lying devil
Intellect Clever and wise Cautious Sagacious Shrewd Graceful Adamant Disdainful More disdainful Nothing Pretentious
Traits Manly Childish Opportunistic Imitative Womanly Inscrutable Mediocre Bloodthirsty Endlessly rude Tender
Sciences Theology Warfare Canon law Jurisprudence Geography Liberal arts Languages Latin Greek Political treachery
National dress Respectable Variable Modest Imitates others After French fashion Leather Long coats Multicoloured Furs Effeminate
Vices Vain Deceitful Covetous Prodigal Restless Superstitious Hoggish Treacherous More treacherous Most treacherous
Preferences Honour and Glory War Gold Drinking Pleasures Expensive food Nobility Rebellion Beating Narcissism
Diseases Constipation Syphilis Plague Podagra Consumption Dropsy Diarrhea Epilepsy Whooping cough Exhaustion
Their countries Fertile Well-cultivated Beautiful and delightful Good Fertile Mountainous Wooded Rich in gold and fruit Icy Pleasant
War virtues Generous Cunning Cautious Invincible Heroic at sea Undaunted Impetuous Insurgent Cumbersome Lazy
Piety Outstanding Good A tad better Very pious Changeable like the moon Zealous Believes all sorts of things Energetic An infidel The same
Their master A monarch A king A patriarch An emperor Now one, now another Liberal An elected one A chosen one A volunteer A tyrant
Superfluity in Fruit Commodities Wine Grain Pastures Iron-ore mines Furs Everything Bees Soft things
Pastimes Games Cheating Gossiping Drinking Working Eating Arguing Idleness Sleeping Being ill
Equivalent animal Elephant Fox Lynx Lion Horse Ox Bear Wolf Donkey Cat
Lives end In bed In battle In the monastery In wine In water On the ground In the stable By sabre In the snow In fraud

References

  1. ^ Paulus 2020, p. 82.
  2. ^ Kordel 2021, p. 37.
  3. ^ Janžekovič 2022, p. 6.
  4. ^ a b Janžekovič 2022, p. 7.

Sources

  • Janžekovič, Izidor (2022). "Ethnic 'stereotypes' in early modern Europe:Russian and Ottoman national costumes". History and Anthropology. 35 (3): 500–524. doi:10.1080/02757206.2022.2132494. hdl:20.500.14018/13905.
  • Kordel, Jacek (2021). "Boläck: Noch wilder als der grausame Schwöth. Über die Vorbilder und Quellen des Polenbildes in der Steirischen Völkertafel". Österreichische Zeitschrift für Volkskunde. 1 (124): 37–64.
  • Paulus, Dagmar (2020). "Femininity, Nation, and Nature: Fanny Tarnow's Letters to Friends from a Journey to Petersburg (1819)". In Paulus, Dagmar; Pilsworth, Ellen (eds.). Nationalism Before the Nation State : Literary Constructions of Inclusion, Exclusion, and Self-Definition (1756-1871). Brill. pp. 77–96. ISBN 9789004366831.

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