The private reception room of Empress Maria Theresa in the Residence Palace Schönbrunn is distinguished by its particularly sumptuous and exotic furnishings.
Picture collages in the form of rococo cartouches are inserted into the panelling of preciously crafted rosewood. The collages depict scenes from the courtly life of the Indian mob rulers in the 16th and 17th centuries and come from an extremely valuable manuscript which was probably purchased for the Court Library by Maria Theresa’s father, Emperor Charles VI.
In a pilot project, the Ars Electronica Futurelab attempted to set new standards in the preservation of irreplaceable cultural objects. The high-quality visualization creates a realistic spatial impression and gives visitors the opportunity to take a larger-than-life look at each of the miniatures. The virtual Millionenzimmer gives viewers a glimpse of Austrian culture at a remote location.
This was made possible by using highest resolution digital technology ranging from laser scanning to meticulously created photographic material. The Futurelab specifically developed an advanced 3D software and used the latest real-time computer graphics technology (such as pixel shaders) to achieve this kind of graphic representation.