Výstava obrazů Viléma Kandlera | Databáze uměleckých výstav v českých zemích 1820

Commentary

Vilém Kandler (1816–1896) belonged to a group of now somewhat forgotten Czech painters active mainly in the second quarter of the 19th century, who followed the Nazarene movement and focused primarily on figurative religious-historical painting, often with an emphasis on the landscape component. Nazarenism came to the Bohemian milieu through the painters František Tkadlík and Josef Führich. Kandler and Führich were born in the same town, Chrastava, and they knew each other. In 1909, art historian František Xaver Jiřík described the Bohemian group, which included Kandler along with others such as Adolf Weidlich, as “epigones of Nazarenism,” although by this time, Kandler had already switched to pure historical painting of the 1840s. [Jiřík 1909] Shortly before the mid-19th century, Bohemian audiences began to perceive historical painting as a nationalistic genre that included themes from Bohemian history but also biblical themes and portraits of saints. This placed the emerging generation of Bohemian artists in relative opposition to the more moderate approach supported by the Prague Academy and the Society of Patriotic Friends of Fine Arts in the first third of the 19th century. [Prahl 1998] Kandler's 1850 Prague exhibition reflected this orientation, which was also manifested in the events that preceded it and significantly influenced its reception.

In the spring of 1850, Kandler’s seven-year stay in Rome, financed by the Klar scholarship, came to an end, and he decided to return to Bohemia. Details of these events are unknown; however, the daily Prager Zeitungreported on the painter’s planned move as early as the beginning of April, calling him a “compatriot” (Landsmann) and noting his artistic qualities. [anonymous author 1850a] According to Wurzbach, the painter left Rome at the end of May; brief reports in the daily press confirm this date. [Wurzbach 1863, anonymous author 1850b].

Before arriving in Prague, Kandler stopped in Vienna in early July and received permission to exhibit his Roman works in the Small Redoutensaal of the Hofburg. Emperor Franz Josef I visited the show on July 8 and, along with other local connoisseurs, expressed a high regard for Kandler's art. The Vienna exhibition ended shortly after July 20, and Kandler’s next steps probably led directly to Prague, where he arrived shortly before August 10. Just three days later, the Prague press reported that the artist would be publicly exhibiting his Roman paintings in Prague in the coming weeks, followed on July 15 by the news that Kristian, Count of Waldstein, had given Kandler permission to hold the exhibition in the Great Hall of the Waldstein Palace in Malá Strana. We can only speculate about the events behind the presentation of Kandler’s works in the Waldstein Palace with the blessing of Kristian of Waldstein.

The exhibition began on August 25 and lasted until October 20. It was open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission cost three kreuzers, and the future proceeds were planned to go to the military hospital in Karlovy Vary. Visitors could also purchase a catalogue compiled by Kandler for the same price as the admission fee. Along with the daily press, this catalogue provides basic information about the works in the exhibition. The first group consisted of 80 drawing studies of Ancient and Christian monuments from Rome and Naples, while the second group included drawings of “costumes” – figures representing various inhabitants of Rome – including the higher clergy – but also Italian shepherds, craftsmen, and working-class girls. The third group consisted of four historical paintings, three of which depicted religious scenes or scenes from church history, namely Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Before the Court, The Speech of Gregory IX Against the Revolt in Rome, and The Sermon of the Prophet Jonah in Nineveh. Emperor Franz Josef I bought the first two paintings for the collection in the Zákupy chateau. This trio of paintings was accompanied by a painting entitled The Karlovy Vary Spring Reveals Itself to the Emperor Charles IV. The fourth group contained four altar paintings of saints Adalbert, George, Josef, and Katherine of Siena, which Pope Pius IX consecrated at the Quirinal in Rome. By the spring of 1850, the daily press was already reporting that three of these altarpieces would be placed in various churches throughout Bohemia. In October 1850 – before the end of the exhibition – the painting of St. Adalbert was placed in the church in Skalsko with the support of Countess Thurn-Taxis. As a tribute to his patron, Alois Klar, Kandler donated the painting of St. Adalbert to the church in Chrastava, while St. Catherine of Siena, acquired by Provost Josef Weber, went to the church in Jindřichův Hradec. The exhibition was rounded off by designs for paintings from the life of Christ to be placed in the Church of St. Raphael at the Prague Institute for the Blind and designs for frescoes for the Church of Our Lady before Týn.

An anonymous review published in the daily Prager Zeitung aptly summarized the significance of Kandler’s exhibition. Its author writes: “We now welcome Kandler with full conviction as one of our people’s richest, most developed and outstanding talents in this genre [of history painting].” [anonymous author 1850c] From this strongly nationalistic perspective, Kandler was seen as a Czech patriot who enjoyed great success that year – he returned after an extended stay in Italy, a rare experience for a Bohemian artist, which introduced him to the formal apparatus of classical art. His works were exhibited in the centre of the Austrian monarchy and one of the most prominent aristocratic palaces in Bohemia, and he was also popular among the local art patrons. Although the development of painting in the second half of the 19th century was already in the hands of the next generation of artists, Kandler’s Prague exhibition can be seen as a manifestation of the national emancipation efforts throughout the 19th century as the Czech society aspired to find its place among the European nation-states.

At the same time, it was the first monographic exhibition organized by an artist to promote and strengthen his position in the local art world and market. In its function, it is comparable to contemporary developments in Europe, where artists from the 18th century onward used solo exhibitions as a means of promoting and presenting their work outside of official exhibitions. [Wellington Gahtan – Pegazzano 2018].

Václav Šafka

Works Cited

Anonymous author 1850a: Anonymous author, untitled, Prager Zeitung XXVI, 1850, no. 78, 2. 4., p. 2

Anonymous author 1850b: Anonymous author, untitled, Prager Zeitung XXVI, 1850, no. 129, 2. 6., p. 1

Anonymous author 1850c: Anonymous author, untitled, Prager Zeitung XXVI, 1850, no.205, 30. 8., p. 2

Jiřík 1909: František Xaver Jiřík, Vývoj, Dílo VI, 1909, no. 11 a 12, p. 149

Prahl 1998: Roman Prahl, Posedlost kresbou. Počátky Akademie umění v Praze 1800–1835, Praha 1998, p. 90

Wellington Gahtan – Pegazzano 2018: Maia Wellington Gahtan – Donatella Pegazzano (eds.), Monographic Exhibitions and the History of Art, Routledge 2018

Wurzbach 1863: Constantin von Wurzbach, Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthum Österreichs. Theil 10. Jabłonowski-Karolina, 1863, p. 432

Databáze uměleckých výstav v českých zemích 1820 – 1950

1850
Exhibition of Paintings by Vilém Kandler

Works Cited

Further Reading

Databáze uměleckých výstav v českých zemích 1820 – 1950

1850 Exhibition of Paintings by Vilém Kandler

Works Cited

Further Reading

1850
Exhibition of Paintings by Vilém Kandler