První výstava brněnské pobočky Rakouského uměleckého spolku | Databáze uměleckých výstav v českých zemích 1820

Commentary

After the demise of the Kunstverein für Franzensmuseum, which held two exhibitions of paintings in Brno in 1838 and 1842 before completely ceasing its activities, the exhibition scene in the Moravian capital was interrupted for nearly ten years. This changed as the Brno art world reawakened at the beginning of the 1850s. In July 1850, the Austrian Art Association in Vienna (Österreichischer Kunstverein in Wien) was established as an alternative to the traditional Association for the Support of Fine Arts (Verein zur Beförderung der bildenden Künste) and began to organize regular exhibitions that showcased international artists alongside the previously prioritized local talent. As in the other Central European kunstvereins that operated on a shareholding system, such as the Fine Arts Association in Prague, some of the works exhibited were purchased for an annual lottery, in which the members (shareholders) could win an artwork as a prize. This model resulted in immediate commercial success and popularity among visitors. Consequently, the Österreichischer Kunstverein decided to open branches in several provincial capitals of the Habsburg Empire (Innsbruck, Graz, Salzburg, Linz, Klagenfurt, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Trieste).

The first branch of the Österreichischer Kunstverein was established at the beginning of the following year in Brno. Information about this new association appeared in the local press on January 18, 1851. Here, an anonymous author, likely one of the organizers, thoroughly described the reasons and conditions under which this altruistic project would be carried out. The author emphasized the material needs of the city, which took precedence over scientific and artistic interests, as these could not be pursued in the absence of resources. Brno had no university, no public library, no art gallery, and no artistic institutions such as music clubs or art schools. However, the author noted that these shortcomings could be at least partially remedied by the fortunate idea of opening a branch of Österreichischer Kunstverein in Brno and engaging Brno personalities with an interest in the visual arts and the necessary contacts. The merchant and art patron Ernst Johann Herring (1816-1871), the provincial lawyer Josef Stella (1804-1860) and the historian Adolf Leopold Anton Franz Knight of Wolfskron (1808-1863) were to "take preliminary steps to establish a local art association in Brno and to find a suitable place for the intended exhibitions." [Anonymous author 1851a] While these three Brno residents likely organized the initial activities of the Österreichischer Kunstverein in the city, the selection of artists and works for the exhibitions was probably entirely managed by the association’s headquarters in Vienna.

The first exhibition was opened on February 16, 1851 in the hall of the Moravian-Silesian Institute for the Blind on Radvitovo (today Žerotínovo) Square. It was originally scheduled to end on February 18, but due to significant public interest, the organizers decided t o extend it by two additional days. Josef Stella, a key patron of the Institute for the Blind and a member of its board of trustees, arranged the venue with the institute, receiving a positive response and even garnering praise from the Viennese press: “The venue is considered the most suitable for this purpose in the entire city, and the use of light and space, along with the overall arrangement, is commended for its artistically sensitive execution.” [Anonymous author 1851b, p. 178] Among the 40 paintings on display, primarily by Austrian and German artists, one piece came from the estate of Viennese collector Rudolf von Arthaber (1795-1867), who was a key initiator of the Österreichischer Kunstverein. Five additional paintings were acquired in Vienna for the autumn lottery, while the rest were available for purchase at prices listed in the accompanying catalogue. Based on newspaper reports published throughout the exhibition, the event was a financial success. On the first day, two paintings were sold, including Family Bliss, a genre scene by Norwegian painter Adolph Tidemand (1814-1861), which was purchased directly by Stella for the equivalent of 600 guldens. Before the exhibition ended, five more paintings were sold. The show was unexpectedly popular with the public. It was open daily between 9 am and 3 pm, and during its relatively short run, it attracted around 9,000 visitors. The revenue from admission fees totaled 1,500 guldens, which was used to cover the transportation and installation costs of the artworks, as well as to print the catalogue. This profit was particularly noteworthy, considering that members of the Österreichischer Kunstverein and its Brno branch – around 100 individuals at that time – enjoyed free admission not only to this exhibition but also to all the association's exhibitions in Vienna and other cities in the monarchy, where the Kunstverein planned to expand.

The notes in the press repeatedly highlighted the paintings that had already appeared in the previous exhibition in Vienna and that the Österreichischer Kunstverein purchased for its lottery, namely the Wenner-See in Sweden by Düsseldorf landscape painter Andreas Achenbach (1827-1905). As in the annual shows of Prague’s Krasoumná jednota (Fine Arts Association), landscape paintings predominated in the Brno exhibition, followed by genre paintings and only a few still-lifes. Reviewers criticized the almost complete absence of history painting which in this period stood at the top of the hierarchy of painting genres. In the Brno exhibition, it was represented by a single painting, namely the Madonna and Child by Johann Nepomuk Ender (1793-1854), a professor at the Vienna Academy. That may be why the Kunstverein committee tried to acquire one of the most famous and debated works of European history painting, Napoleon at Fontainebleau (1845) by the French master of this genre Paul Delaroche (1797-1856), for the next show. However, its owner, Adolf Heinrich Schletter (1793-1853), a Leipzig silk merchant, art patron, and consul, was unable to lend the painting despite his genuine efforts. He had already committed to sending it to the Prague annual exhibition, where it was successfully showcased from April to May after its presentation in Vienna.

Despite the praise that the venue had previously received, and "despite all other advantages", the Institute for the Blind, located on the northern edge of Brno's circular avenue, was considered "too far away for a large number of spectators to visit frequently without spending too much time travelling" [Anonymous author 1851c]. As a result, the next exhibition of the Brno branch of the Austrian Kunstverein was moved to the Reduta city theatre in May 1851. The Reduta theatre hosted most of the Kunstverein’s shows until 1859. In the first year, the association organized four exhibitions (in February, May, September, and December). The following year saw three exhibitions, after which the association held two exhibitions per year, a number that likely reflected the actual demand from the public in Brno. After the end of the second 1851 exhibition, a local journalist wrote a commentary concerning both shows: “The exhibition gave us a wealth of pleasures which were previously quite unavailable to us. This time, too, we have shown that we have a sense of more sophisticated painting, which just needed an outside stimulus to develop fully.” The writer also cautiously welcomed the plans to establish the Brno branch of Prague’s Fine Arts Association, which was supposed to organize one exhibition annually in Brno (this project never materialized). He suggested that both associations collaborate rather than compete, concluding his text with a rhetorical question, apparently in response to the incipient nationalistic rivalry between Czechs and Germans: “Or is this peaceful field to become another hotbed for the troublesome seed of nationalism?” [Anonymous author 1851d]

The first of the 28 regular and four supplementary exhibitions that the Brno branch of the Austrian Kunstverein held before it ceased its activities in 1864 was an undeniable success. Although somewhat provincial, the Moravian capital now hosted regular sales exhibitions of contemporary European art, which elevated the local art scene to a new level.

Petr Tomášek

Works Cited

Anonymous author 1851a: Anonymous author, Filiale des „österreichischen Kunstvereins“ in Brünn, Brünner Zeitung, 1851, no. 14, 18. 1., p. 61

Anonymous author 1851b: Anonymous author, Kunst und Leben, Abendblatt der Wiener Zeitung, 1851, no. 45, 24. 2., pp. 178–179

Anonymous author 1851c: Anonymous author, Die zweite Gemäldeausstellung der Brünner Filiale des österreichischen Kunstverein, Brünner Zeitung, 1851, no. 105, 7. 5., p. 447

Anonymous author 1851d: Anonymous author, Kunstzustände in Brünn, Brünner Zeitung, 1851, no. 124, 29. 5., p. 530

Databáze uměleckých výstav v českých zemích 1820 – 1950

1851
The First Exhibition of the Austrian Art Association in Brno

Works Cited

Further Reading

Databáze uměleckých výstav v českých zemích 1820 – 1950

1851 The First Exhibition of the Austrian Art Association in Brno

Works Cited

Further Reading

1851
The First Exhibition of the Austrian Art Association in Brno