Styrian Cross-Stitch (1865/1910)
Photo: N. Lackner / UMJ
Cross-stitch in red thread on white linen is usually considered the most recognizable element of a genuinely Styrian tradition. In reality, it is a conscious bow to the “old German” style of the 16th century, supported by folklorists of the 1920s and promoted as a means of propaganda by the Nazis. Nineteenth-century Styrian homes, be they bourgeois or—to a lesser extent—rural, were rather adorned with naturalistic Biedermeier embroidery flaunting playful forms and bright colors.
After the Anschluss, this was considered a kitschy and restless aberration. “Simple, clear forms” corresponded to the “genuinely German character,” the new thinking went. Cross-stitching was widely introduced as an educational craft meant to further homogenize the Nazi Volksgemeinschaft (racial community). Today, it is notably unclear what exactly should be considered “true” Styrian folklore.
Rosalia Dirnberger
(life dates unknown)
Cross-stitch sampler (1861)
Yarn on canvas
Artist unknown
Cross-stitch sampler (1910)
Red yarn on canvas
Folk Life Museum at the Paulustor / Universalmuseum Joanneum