Databáze uměleckých výstav v českých zemích 1820 – 1950

Based on the catalogue, this show was officially titled Exhibition of Works by Local and International Masters. From the beginning, however, it became known as The Third Exhibition, as K. B. Mádl referred to it in an extensive review published in three installments in the periodical Ruch. Unlike the previous solo exhibitions at Galerie Ruch, this show presented a collection of works by several artists, most of whom were Czech and some foreign. The first artworks began to appear in the gallery even before the show’s official opening: two paintings by Alfred Seifert, a sculpture by Bernard Seeling, and a relief representing the Madonna by Josef Václav Myslbek were installed during the previous show, the retrospective of Hanuš Schwaiger. In addition to works by these artists, The Third Exhibition included those of Schwaiger’s works that were not sold during his retrospective and belonged to Galerie Ruch. Schwaiger was in fact the best-represented artist at the exhibition. 

According to the catalogue, which again contained many reproductions, the show presented 104 artworks, mostly oil paintings and also tempera paintings, watercolours, drawings, pen drawings, and even sculptures, such as a bronze relief by Myslbek and sculptures by Bernard Seeling and Antonín Popp. With a few exceptions, the exhibited works were the property of Galerie Ruch. In the catalogue, these items were marked with an asterisk and offered for sale along with works the artists intended to sell through the gallery. The exhibition also included loans from private collections (these items were not for sale) and several works from the personal collection of Anna Wiesner, the wife of the gallery’s owner, Alois Wiesner. 

Reports in the press referred to the show as a permanent exhibition: one that is open for an extended period and features a variety of artists whose works rotate at longer or shorter intervals. This system had been in place from the beginning of the show, and although the catalogue published in March contained 104 items, some of them did not make it to the gallery until early April. These were the items listed at the end of the catalogue – Chittussi’s oil painting On the Orleans Railway, Čermák’s sketch In the Shade, and a set of works by Jiří Stibral. More works were added during the following months – paintings by Jaroslav Věšín, František Ženíšek, and Hanuš Schwaiger in May and a model by Bernard Seeling and other works in June.

Art critics particularly appreciated the inclusion of Czech artists who spent long periods abroad in the 1980s, whether in Paris, Munich, or Vienna. However, as Karel Boromejský Mádl pointed out, these artists were not necessarily represented by their newest or best works: “If we judged the present exhibition as a picture of the youngest Czech art, it would not stand.” Further on, he advised the reader that “a better position from which to view the exhibition in Ruch is to approach it as one would approach any other private show. It is correct to have a list and proceed from number to number, judging them as artworks in their own right, without regard to the exhibition as a whole” [Mádl 1887, p. 156]. 

Work number 1 in the catalogue, the bronze relief of the Madonna by Josef Václav Myslbek, was placed in the gallery as early as February 1887. The relief enjoyed the critics’ attention – some authors even dedicated extensive separate reviews to it, discussing its subject matter and artistic execution. In general, the reviewers praised all the participating artists: Tyršová singled out Brožík, Mádl highlighted Věšín – and the critics unanimously agreed that Wiesner’s permanent exhibition was a boon for the Prague art world. 

The gallery’s schedule was gradually adapted to the new exhibition format. Since Ruch’s establishment in December 1886, Wiesner gradually extended its opening hours, likely thanks to gas lighting, which he had installed in the gallery at the beginning of 1887. At the beginning of April, Galerie Ruch introduced a discounted admission price: 20-visit subscription tickets for 3 guldens, or a yearly pass for 10 guldens. Yet another step to attract more visitors, Wiesner reduced the entrance fee for students to only 10 kreutzers, while members of various associations paid 20 kreutzers per person. Despite these visitor-friendly measures, the attendance at the gallery was not what the organizers had expected, as Mádl noted in early April 1887: “Lamentably, the Prague public remains indifferent, but let us hope this will not last.” [Mádl 1887, p. 155] 

The Prague professional public often voiced the need for an exhibition space that would allow for organizing year-round shows of contemporary art. Until the beginning of the 1870s, there were only the annual exhibitions of Krasoumná jednota (Fine Art Association), which lasted a mere one month. This changed in 1872 when both the gallerist Mikoláš Lehmann and Umělecká beseda (Artistic Forum) opened their first permanent exhibitions. Galerie Ruch then became another gallery to offer an irregularly updated overview of the latest artistic output while also offering the exhibited works for sale. As part of the permanent exhibition, the represented artists could showcase small sets of their artworks. Jaroslav Věšín’s works, which enjoyed great success immediately after the opening of the permanent exhibition, were later supplemented with oil paintings. His entire collection at Galerie Ruch received considerable attention in the press.

Lucie Česká

Works Cited

Mádl 1887: Karel Boromejský Mádl, Výstava třetí, Ruch IX, 1887, no. 10, 5. 4., pp. 155–156

Further Reading

Ondřej Chrobák, „Ruch“ ve výtvarném umění v Praze 80. letech 19. století (diplomová práce), Praha 2002

Anonymous author, Výstava, Zlatá Praha IV, 1886–1887, no. 12, 11. 2., p. 191

Anonymous author, Umělecké výstavy v Praze, Národní listy XXVII, 1887, no. 57, 27. 2., p. 3

Anonymous author, „Galerie Ruch“, Národní listy XXVII, 1887, no. 73, 15. 3., pp. 2–3

Anonymous author, Galerie „Ruch“, Národní listy XXVII, 1887, no. 80, 22. 3., p. 3

Anonymous author, Umělecké výstavy v Praze, Národní listy XXVII, 1887, no. 90, 1. 4., p. 5

Anonymous author, Umělecké výstavy v Praze, Národní listy XXVII, 1887, no. 92, 3. 4., p. 3

Anonymous author, Galerie „Ruch“, Národní listy XXVII, 1887, no. 99, 10. 4., p. 3

Anonymous author, Galerie Ruch, Národní listy XXVII, 1887, no. 105, 17. 4., p. 3

Anonymous author, Galerie Ruch, Národní listy XXVII, 1887, no. 112, 24. 4., p. 3

Anonymous author, Galerie „Ruch“, Národní listy XXVII, 1887, no. 128, 10. 5., p. 3

Anonymous author, „Galerie Ruch“, Národní listy XXVII, 1887, no. 129, 11. 5., p. 3

Anonymous author, Galerie „Ruchu“, Zlatá Praha IV, 1886–1887, no. 25, 13. 5., p. 399

Anonymous author, „Galerie Ruchu“, Zlatá Praha IV, 1886–1887, no. 27, 27. 5., p. 431

Anonymous author, Galerie „Ruch“, Národní listy XXVII, 1887, no. 152, 5. 6., p. 3

Anonymous author, Galerie Ruchu, Zlatá Praha IV, 1886–1887, no. 29, 10. 6., p. 464

Anonymous author, Výstavy, Národní listy XXVII, 1887, no. 159, 12. 6., p. 10

V. W. [Vilém Weitenweber], Socha Panny Marie, Zlatá Praha IV, 1887, no. 14, 25. 2., p. 222