The exhibition organized by the Fine Arts Association (Krasoumná jednota) at the beginning of 1853 became an important milestone in the association’s history. Until the first half of the 1850s, the association struggled with insufficient exhibition spaces, which were only available for the annual art exhibitions in the spring. This made exhibiting complicated, as it was impossible to show artworks outside the "usual" time. The Fine Arts Association began actively addressing this problem in the early 1850s, and from 1853 it negotiated a permanent lease for suitable exhibition rooms in Prague's Clementinum. It also rented several rooms there that were available for use throughout the year. These rooms were intended to house extraordinary art exhibitions whenever the opportunity arose to bring popular artworks to Prague. Representatives of the Fine Arts Association aimed to emulate European artistic associations by organizing monthly exhibitions in addition to annual showcases, such as the exhibitions held at the Österreichischer Kunstverein in Vienna. As part of its modernization efforts, the association wanted to ensure that it could hold extraordinary four-week exhibitions at any time during the year to support and promote the fine arts in Bohemia.
The "First Extraordinary Exhibition of the Fine Arts Association," as both the association and the contemporary press called the show, took place at the beginning of 1853. It was the first exhibition to be installed on the second floor of the Clementinum, consisting of thirteen works. The main attraction was the monumental oil painting Paestum (1847) by Swiss painter Alexandre Calame depicting one of the Italian ancient temples. The work had already garnered significant attention. Calame originally painted it for French King Louis Philippe of Orléans, who ultimately refused to purchase it because he thought it was too expensive. The painting eventually found its way into the private collection of Leipzig's consul general, Schletter, who primarily collected contemporary French art. Schletter traveled abroad with his most interesting paintings to exhibit them in European shows. Two years earlier, he had toured Paul Delaroche's Napoleon at Fontainebleau, which was well-received by audiences in Prague during the Fine Arts Association's annual exhibition. For his journey through European art centers, Schletter also chose Calame's canvas. At the end of 1852, the painting was included in the December exhibition at the Österreichischer Kunstverein in Vienna. Immediately after the exhibition ended, the painting traveled to Prague.
In addition to Calame's sensational painting, the 1853 extraordinary exhibition featured works by other contemporary artists, primarily landscape painters. The press and organizers highlighted the inclusion of works by Viennese artists Friedrich Gauermann and Josef Danhauser from the collection of Baron Louis Pereira. Until the 1850s, Viennese art had practically been absent from the Fine Arts Association’s exhibitions. To address this situation, Franz Thun-Hohenstein, the association's secretary, promised to bring other leading artists from the monarchy's center to Prague for subsequent annual exhibitions. Gauermann was represented at the 1853 exhibition with a painting featuring an animal motif, while Danhauser (posthumously) contributed his genre painting The Poet's Love. The extraordinary exhibition also presented Munich artists who were popular in Prague: Friedrich Zahn with a depiction of Maximilian I on St. Martin's Rock and Albert Zimmermann with a small ideal forest landscape. Other authors included Hans Brandes from Braunschweig, Leopold Stephan, Max Haushofer, Johann Kautsky who presented two landscapes, and Bedřich Havránek with two works featuring Prague motifs. Besides oil paintings, visitors could also view a collection of engravings by Czech engraver J. Šmíd depicting an antique sarcophagus from the imperial Ambras collection [Anonymous author 1853].
According to the Fine Arts Association's original plans, its first extraordinary exhibition lasted four weeks and ended on February 14, 1853. Like the annual art exhibition, this was a sale show – of the thirteen works, three canvases were sold to private individuals for a total price of 244 florins. However, the overall attendance was an unpleasant surprise to the organizers; the return on admission, which was set at 10 kreuzers per person, was only 88 florins and 50 kreuzers – indicating little public interest. This likely stemmed from the unusual opening hours which were so discouraging to visitors that not even Calame’s sensational painting was enough to attract them. Besides low attendance, other problems included the high cost of transporting Calame's large canvas. It came by train from Vienna, with the total cost of the journey amounting to 262 florins.
Despite these issues, the first extraordinary exhibition of the Fine Arts Society was considered a success. It played an undeniable role in shaping the modern exhibition landscape in Bohemia, both in terms of securing year-round exhibition rooms for the Fine Arts Association and acquiring works with the potential to attract the public. Prague thus followed the lead of major European art centers like Berlin, Munich, and Vienna.
Lucie Česká
Anonymous author 1853: Anonymous author, Od 15. ledna, Lumír III, 1853, no. 3, 20. 1., pp. 71–72
Bericht 1853: Bericht über die Wirksamkeit des Kunst-Vereins für Böhmen, für das Jahr 1852–1853, pp. 6–7, Archive of the National Gallery in Prague, fonds SVPU, Zprávy o činnosti [Activity Reports], AA 1259
Lucie Česká, Christmas Exhibition: An Alternative to Official Art Shows and a Marketing Strategy, Umění/Art LXXII, 2024, no. 1, pp. 53–68
Bericht über die Wirksamkeit des Kunst-Vereins für Böhmen, für das Jahr 1852–1853, Archive of the National Gallery in Prague, fonds SVPU, Zprávy o činnosti [Activity Reports], AA 1259
Korespondence z let 1852–1853, Archive of the National Gallery in Prague, fonds Krasoumná jednota [Fine Arts Association]
Anonymous author, Prag, Wiener Allgemeine Theaterzeitung, 1853, no. 15, 22. 1., p. 4
Anonymous author, Der prager Kunstverein, Illustrirte Zeitung XX, 1853, no. 501, 5. 2., p. 11
P. B., Prag, Ost-Deutsche Post, 1853, no. 14, 18. 1., p. 2