News

The first comprehensive survey of Dutch art to take place in the Czech Republic in the last several decades, Rembrandt & Co., along with the scholarly catalog that will be published in conjunction with the exhibition, is the culmination of an important five-year research project on the National Gallery’s collection of nearly 600 Dutch paintings.

Among the paintings Cornelis de Baellieur depicts in the background of A Cabinet of Curiosities is Dutch artist Pieter de Molijn’s (1595-1661) undated landscape entitled Rest in Front of a Country House (far wall, above round canvas). This painting forms part of the National Gallery in Prague’s permanent collection and will hang adjacent to de Baellieur’s work in Rembrandt & Co.

A Cabinet of Curiosities will hang alongside more than 120 canvases from the National Gallery and other prestigious museums in the Czech Republic and abroad.

The exhibition will run from 10 February through 27 May 2012.

To visit the website of the National Gallery in Prague, please click here.

Organized in celebration of the 60th year of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s reign and the 75th anniversary of the Museum, Royal River will explore the relationship between monarchs, London and its citizens, which through the lens of the Thames and throughout the City’s history brought together all three during displays of royal power, patronage and pageantry.

The participation of Canaletto’s London: The Thames on Lord Mayor’s Day in Royal River will mark the first time the painting has returned to England since it was painted over 260 years ago. It will be exhibited alongside more than 350 objects and paintings, among them many pieces never previously seen by the public. The exhibition will run from 27 April through 9 September 2012.

About the Painting

The painting was brought into The Lobkowicz Collections by Ferdinand Philip, 6th Prince Lobkowicz (1724–1784), who acquired it after an introduction to Canaletto in London, where the Prince had traveled to buy horses. The painting, along with a second slightly earlier Canaletto of the same size and also featuring the Thames, was sent to the 6th Prince’s home in Bohemia, where it hung for centuries in the Lobkowicz ducal residence of Roudnice Castle.

London: The Thames on Lord Mayor’s Day remained in the possession of the Lobkowicz family until the 20th century, when it was confiscated first by the Nazis at the start of World War II and then by the Communist government that came to power in Czechoslovakia in 1948. In the early 1990s, the painting was returned to the Lobkowiczes following the passage of three restitution laws by the government of President Václav Havel.

Since restitution, the painting has formed part of the permanent collections, first at Nelahozeves Castle and, since 2007, at the Lobkowicz Palace Museum in Prague Castle.

We wish you a wonderful holiday and all the best in the coming year.

The Lobkowicz Team

To view our greeting card, please click here.

In May of this year, the portrait became the first object from The Lobkowicz Collections to appear in a contemporary art show when it was loaned to the Rudolfinum Gallery (Prague) for the exhibition Undeniably Me, which explored the question of identity in modern art. The painting of Prince František was hung next to a Luc Tuymans “portrait” of a nameless, faceless figure. The stark con-trast between the two sitters reinforcedthe Belgian artist’s suggestion that hair —and hairstyle — is the human being’s only true distinguishing characteristic and thus, the hallmark of an individual’s identity.

Lobkowicz Events Management and The Lobkowicz Collections extend their thanks to all the sponsors, visitors, vendors and entertainers who each year ensure that the Festival is a great success.

Dedicated to the work of the 17th-century Italian architect, draftsman and engraver Giovanni Battista Falda, the show will present two of his works from The Lobkowicz Library: Palazzi di Roma (Rome, c. 1660), which was published in collaboration with the renowned engraver Pietro Ferrerio, and Giardini di Roma (Rome, c. 1683).

"Falda was one of the first notable vedutista whose work established a repertory of views of Rome that inspired later artists including [Giovanni Battista] Piranesi," says Soňa Černocká, Librarian of The Lobkowicz Library, the collection to which the books belong. "Falda's engravings captured the city — with its palaces, fountains and spectacular gardens — accurately and in vivid detail, and [they] were also a great commercial success, as his cityscapes were avidly sought after by the Grand Tourists."

The exhibition will run through 31 May 2012.

For our youngest visitors, many favorite entertainments from past years (and the Spring Pottery Markets) are back, including the juggler Pupa, the puppet theater Svát’ovo dividlo and the festive Advent concerts. The perennially popular craft workshops – among them, ornament-making tables and candle-crafting stations – will take place as usual inside the Castle interiors.

Children and adults alike will enjoy shopping at the booths of more than 80 local artisans
and will be able to select their purchases from hundreds of handcrafted products and other fine goods on offer, including wooden toys; teas, honeys and mead; ceramics; jewelry; wreaths, ornaments and even mistletoe.

Equally unmissable while at the Castle is a tour of the The Lobkowicz Collections: the museum exhibition Private Spaces: A Noble Family at Home is a feast for the eyes and visits will be conducted by guides in period costume.

Tip: After your museum tour, stop in at the Castle tearoom for a midday break!

Lobkowicz Catering will be responsible for food throughout the weekend and will whip up such well-loved Festival hits as Czech goulash and blueberry cake. Lobkowicz beer and wine, the latter of which will be available for tasting at stands across the Castle property, pair wonderfully with the catering kitchen’s specialties and will be available for purchase.

Before you leave for the day, stop in at the Dvořák Museum, which is located at the foot of the Castle.

Fun Fact: The word “advent” is derived from the Medieval Latin word adventus, meaning “coming”. We hope you will come and get into the holiday spirit with us at the Festival later this month!

At the young age of fourteen, the 7th Prince was honored by Habsburg emperor Joseph II with the designation Duke of Roudnice, a title that bore the name of both the Lobkowicz family's principal seat – Roudnice Castle – and the name of the town in which the the property was situated.

The annual Advent Festival will take place at Nelahozeves Castle on 26 and 27 November – the last weekend of the month. Read more about the Festival on our website and stay tuned for a preview report in next month’s newsletter.

The next Lobkowicz Collections Members Event will be held on Wednesday, 7 December at 18:00. The evening’s program is entitled Returning Home: The Restitution Story, and the guest speaker will be William Lobkowicz, who will talk for the very first time about the journey that brought The Collections together after more than 40 years in confiscation. To become a member or to inquire about membership, please write to membership@lobkowicz.cz.

Handmade in the Czech Republic with Italian ingredients and cocoa sourced in Madagascar and Central and South America, the delectable – and music-themed – semisweet chocolate may be purchased in single bars or in boxes of three.

The classic Czech spa wafers, known as lázeňské oplatky, are paper-thin, cream-filled cookies whose tradition dates back to the 18th century. Lobkowicz spa wafers are available in two flavors: hazelnut (“Castle Wafers”) and chocolate (“Palace Wafers”). For questions about these or other Shop products, or to place an order, please write to Radek Toms at toms@lobkowicz.cz.

Lobkowicz Events Management extends its thanks to all those who attended the Festival – visitors, vendors and entertainers alike – with special gratitude to main sponsor K Brewery for its ongoing support of Lobkowicz events.

Three months remain in the four-month project to conserve German artist Johann Bardou’s seven Poniatowski portraits, which were first written about in last year’s October newsletter. Three specialists – one each in the fields of pastel technique, paper and wooden framework – are at the helm of the preservation work, which is expected to be finished by the end of November 2011.

The first phase of conservation has recently begun on the Lobkowicz Palace Museum’s twenty-six prints of views of Rome by Giovanni Battista Piranesi. Nine of the works are currently at the restorer’s studio. The preservation process, which the remaining seventeen prints will undergo in two subsequent phases of conservation, will take approximately three months to complete.

About the Piranesi conservation project

The 18th-century Piranesi prints suffer from so-called “acid burn”, a condition caused by the paper on which they are mounted. Left untreated, the acid of the backing paper would continue to migrate into the paper fibers of the prints themselves, causing irrevocable damage. Conservation work will see the prints removed from their present backings and remounted onto acid-free paper. Light restoration work, such as the removal of marks or blemishes, will also be performed.

The first phase of this conservation process, which was profiled in the January newsletter, has been made possible by contributors to Lobkowicz Collections, o.p.s. The foundation continues to seek the funds necessary to complete the second and third phases of the project. The cost to conserve and restore each print is 3,500 CZK.

To sponsor the conservation of one of the Piranesi prints, or for more information about the project, please contact Veronika Wolf, Director of Lobkowicz Collections, o.p.s., at wolf@lobkowicz.cz. To read more about Lobkowicz Collections, o.p.s. and its mission, please click here.

*o.p.s. (obecně prospěšná společnost) is a nonprofit organization designation in the Czech Republic.

Dr. Beveridge’s lecture sought to give an overview of the composer’s work, highlighting everything from the jazz-like passages in his Humoresque, which would later influence American composer and pianist George Gershwin, to excerpts from his solemn Biblical Songs (Biblické písně), which Dvořák wrote while in the United States in 1894 and which reflect a moving spiritual devotion.

Following the conclusion of the program, there was a reception during which members had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Beveridge and the musicians that accompanied his lecture: pianist Eva Matošková of The Prague Conservatoire, cellist Richard Žemlička of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and noted soprano Liana Sass.

Adult visitors can look forward to sampling wines from the Roudnice Lobkowicz Winery; touring the 12th century Romanesque part of the Castle - the oldest section - with guides in period costume; visiting the baroque Castle chapel; and viewing vintage cars at a special exhibition in the town square (Karlovo náměstí, 10:00-14:00).

At the Castle, including inside the courtyard, the gardens and Castle interiors themselves, children will enjoy craft workshops, falconry shows, face painting, pony rides, puppet theater (15:00-17:00) and "Haunted Castle" adventure (20:00-22:00).

Also in the Castle courtyard: entertainment will be provided alternately by a variety of music bands and swordsmen demonstrations; Lobkowicz Catering will serve goulash, apple strudel and other Czech festival favorites; and Lobkowicz wine and beer will be available for purchase.

Be sure to be in the courtyard at 13:30 for the official opening of the festival by Praotec Čech (Forefather Czech)!

For more information about the Wine Harvest Festival schedule and events, please click here (Czech only) or write to info@lobkowiczevents.cz. For directions to Roudnice Castle, please click here.

The evening’s program will consist of a lecture by guest speaker and Dvořák scholar, Dr. David R. Beveridge, whose enthusiasm for his subject and thoughtful presentation format transform a lecture into an engaging master class. Accompanying Dr. Beveridge’s talk will be the sounds of some of Dvořák ’s most beautiful compositions, performed by pianist Eva Matošková of The Prague Conservatoire, cellist Richard Žemlička of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and noted soprano Liana Sass, whose credits include the leading role in Puccini’s La Bohème and Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

After a question and answer period, Dr. Beveridge and Mr. and Mrs. William Lobkowicz will join the members for light refreshments in the Balcony Room.

Members Events are cultural events organized exclusively for participants in the Lobkowicz Collections Membership Program. The next Members Event is scheduled for early December. To read more about the program, please click here. To become a member, or to inquire further about the program, please write to Barbora Palkosková at membership@lobkowicz.cz.

Among the new offerings on the savory side are a delicious orzo saladtossed in a fragrant basil pesto with feta cheese, pine nuts, sundried tomatoes and fava beans; a flavorful curried chicken salad made with crunchy celery, lightly toasted pecans and plump grapes and served on a bed of mixed greens; and a classic salade niçoise so pitch-perfect that you just might mistake the view from the Café balcony for the south of France.

As no meal is quite complete without dessert, the Café kitchen is whipping up new treats that are guaranteed to pass the test for summer’s sweeter indulgences: big in flavor, light in weight. Try the lemon tart, with its silky smooth lemon filling and crispy brûlée finish, or choose the raspberry-swirl cheesecake – the Café’s famous dessert, now infused with the incomparable berry-ness of the warmer months.

These important works on paper depict members of the Polish noble family of Poniatowski; the sitters are relatives of Poland's last king, Stanislav II (1732-1798), who reigned from 1764 until his forced abdication in 1795.

Following completion of the conservation process, the portraits will be installed in the Princess' Boudoir at Nelahozeves Castle. To see photographs of these beautiful works, please see the "Poniatowski" album in our Facebook photo gallery.

To read more about The Lobkowicz Collections at Nelahozeves Castle, please click here.

"We are very pleased that Fratava has been acknowledged as one of the country's top wines," Mr. Podrábský said afterward. "Wines with expressive fruit flavors are in high demand right now, and we feel that Fratava has a successful future ahead of it."

About Fratava

A cross between the Frankovka (also known as Lemberger or Blaufränkisch) and the Svatovavřinecké (Saint Laurent) grape varieties, the Fratava grape is medium to large in size and dark red in color. Well suited to northern climates because it ripens relatively early, the grape flourishes in lesser quality soil and is able to withstand dry conditions.

Characterized by its robust fruit notes and rich, intense color, Fratava wine boasts low acidity and smooth tannins, which give the varietal broad appeal and make it a suitable pairing for red meat and strong cheeses. The wine, which is also used to create red wine blends, may be enjoyed either very young or aged.

For more information about the Roudnice Lobkowicz Winery, please click here.

Antonín’s musical education, like that of his renowned composer brother, Pavel, began at the Premonstratensian Monastery grammar school in Nová Říše, the small Moravian town in which he was born. He went on to be a student of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and rose to prominence in Vienna at the end of the 18th century, succeeding Pavel as conductor at the Theater an der Wien in 1814.

Today, the entirety of Antonín’s sheet music collection, along with that of his brother, resides in the Music Archive of The Lobkowicz Collections, having been acquired by the 7th Prince in 1800 and 1810, respectively.

In the Piranesi Room at the Museum, the most important and most extensive of the Italian artist's books, Le Antichità romane (1756), is now on display. This four-volume work was the culmination of Piranesi's careful study and excavation of Rome's antiquities and contains 252 prints of the city. Remarkably, Le Antichità romane remains even today one of the largest and most thorough picture volumes on the present-day Italian capital.

The temporary exhibition runs through 31 October 2011.

Count Wenzel Ferdinand’s dinner service was created around the year 1685 and is the most important of its kind remaining in the world today from that era. It is also the best preserved Delft service in existence and the largest at 155 total pieces.

The majority of this Lobkowicz dinner service is on permanent display in the Ceramics Room at the Lobkowicz Palace Museum.  

Prince František’s portrait appears next to that of a nameless, faceless figure, whose only discerning characteristic is its long, flowing hair. Displayed together, the paintings are meant to reinforce Belgian artist Luc Tuymans' suggestion that hair – and hairstyle – is the human being’s only true distinguishing characteristic and hallmark of identity.

Other exhibited artists include Gerhard Richter, Bruce Nauman, Marlene Dumas and Andreas Gursky. The show runs through 14 August 2011.

Six paintings depicting members of the noble Bohemian family of Rožmberk and an illustrated inventory of 17th-century tableware have been loaned to the exhibition The Rožmberk Family: An Aristocratic Family and its Journey Through History.

Among the 600 works of art that retrace the history of this important and influential family is the newly restored Collections painting The Lying in State of William of Rožmberk (1592). The significance of this extraordinary picture lies in its life-size proportions, which are rare among paintings depicting a person on his deathbed.

The Rožmberk exhibition runs through 20 August 2011.

The Lying in State of William of Rožmberk, Bohemian School,
oil on canvas, 1592.

Under an agreement with the National Gallery of Prague, three paintings were loaned to the exhibition Artis Pictoriae Amatores: Europe in the Mirror of Baroque Art Collecting in Prague, which was held at the Prague Castle Riding School from 13 May to 12 September. In the last eighteen years, more than 170 Collections objects have been loaned to museums and exhibitions in the Czech Republic and abroad.

An accomplished poet and Bohemia’s most distinguished representative of Latin Humanism, Bohuslav amassed a collection of approximately 650 volumes – a remarkable number for the time – with the help of friends and a network of professional agents. The works he collected were authored primarily by humanists of the era, as well as classical writers, such as Euclid; unsurprisingly, and with only one exception, they were written in Latin or Greek.

Approximately two thirds of Bohuslav’s book collection is preserved within The Library, including more than 400 of The Library’s 730 incunabula. Upon occasion, these books form part of temporary exhibitions at Lobkowicz Palace Museum and Nelahozeves Castle.

To read more about the The Lobkowicz Library, please see The Library.

In the Piranesi Room at the Palace, the most important and most extensive of Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s books, Le Antichità romane (1756), is now on display. This four-volume work was the culmination of the artist’s careful study and excavation of Rome’s antiquities and contains 252 prints of the city. Remarkably, Le Antichità romane remains even today one of the largest and most thorough picture volumes on the present-day Italian capital.

On view in the exhibition cabinets in the Prince’s Library at Nelahozeves Castle are five extraordinarily rare 16th and 17th-century books on medicinal plants. Among the volumes, four of which are first editions, is a hand-colored copy  of Das Buch zu distilieren… und das Buch Thesaurus pauperum (1532) by the renowned German physician and surgeon Hieronymus Brunschwig, or Braunschweig, (1450–1512). Written in vernacular German, the book was produced for the general public and served in part as a medical manual for those who lived in more remote places and who therefore did not have immediate access to a doctor.

The temporary exhibitions at the Palace and Nelahozeves Castle run through 31 October.

To read more about the The Lobkowicz Library, please see The Library.

Come, relax and enjoy lunch or simply coffee and dessert in this historical and beautiful setting. Lobkowicz Palace Café is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00. For more information, please see Lobkowicz Palace Café.

Please click the image above to see
photographs of the courtyard and
Lobkowicz Palace Café.

The staff of Lobkowicz Events Management and Lobkowicz Collections o.p.s. would like to extend their thanks to everyone who visited this year’s Market and to the companies that sponsored the event.

To view more photographs from
the festival, please click the above image.

On hand for the celebration were guest speakers John Somerville, Chief Curator of The Lobkowicz Collections, and Martin Martan, principal paintings restorer for The Collections. In his introductory remarks, Mr. Somerville discussed past restoration projects and the ongoing restoration and conservation challenges facing The Collections. He also reflected on the art of restoration itself, noting that Mr. Martan’s considerable skill lies not just in his ability to repair a tear in a canvas or to mix color well, but also in his respect for the integrity of the original work. “We are enormously fortunate to have him working on pictures for us, as his knowledge and experience in this field are so considerable and his work of the highest caliber, leaving a painting looking in good health and well cared for, but not ‘brightened up’ or ‘improved’,” said Mr. Somerville.

Following the Chief Curator’s speech, Mr. Martan gave a detailed presentation on the Veronese conservation process, describing the painting’s former condition and the precise steps taken to repair it. Mr. Martan also highlighted a surprising discovery made in the restorer’s studio: during standard X-ray analysis of the canvas, a human head not original to the composition appeared, indicating Veronese most likely reused the canvas for the painting of David.

Following the conclusion of its temporary exhibition at the Lobkowicz Palace, David with the Head of Goliath will once again be on display in the Great Drawing Room at Nelahozeves Castle beginning 3 May.

To see photos from the event,
please click the above image.

For four weeks, the 7th-grade students had taken on the role of curator, each investigating one of thirty-three total Collections objects selected from depository for the school program. The diverse assortment of objects ranged from an Indonesian musical instrument known as an angklung, to an executioner’s sword, to an 18th-century woman’s shoe.

Three top prizes and six honorable mentions were awarded by Alexandra Lobkowicz to the students with the best projects.

About the "Curator for a Day" Program

A singular educational and museum experience, The Lobkowicz Collections Curator for a Day program was created in 2009 by Alexandra Lobkowicz in collaboration with the International School of Prague and Apple, Inc.

Modeled off of other Lobkowicz educational programs, the Curator program is unique in that students are assigned an actual Collections object that they are allowed to handle and must research as a curator would.

At the start of the program, which is usually conducted as part of a history class curriculum, students receive a one-line clue about their object and spend approximately one hour analyzing it. They also tour the museums at the Lobkowicz Palace and Nelahozeves Castle and consult the many resources of The Collections reference library. Throughout the four-week project, the young “curators” correspond with Collections staff, which helps guide the students in their research.

To read more about educational opportunities with The Lobkowicz Collections, please see Education.

“Whether you want to find out about museum hours, special student programs, Lobkowicz festivals or hosting an event at one of the Lobkowicz properties, the goal of the web redesign project was to create a comprehensive, easy-to-use and engaging resource for visitors of all levels of interest” says Director of Special Projects, Jessica Hejtmanek, who led the project from conception to completion.

Users of the website will enjoy regularly updated content in the form of news, photographs and selected highlights from The Collections and can look forward to new features, such as the addition of an e-shop and the translation of the site into multiple languages.

The feedback of our visitors is always greatly appreciated! Please send your suggestions and comments to Mary Masri, Director of Communications, at masri@lobkowicz.cz.

The newly-cleaned work will be on temporary exhibition at Lobkowicz Palace for two weeks beginning on the 14th of April. The evening beforehand, members of The Collections will enjoy a special preview of Veronese’s splendid baroque painting as well as a presentation on art restoration led by Martin Martan, chief paintings restorer for The Collections.

To inquire about Membership, please contact membership@lobkowicz.cz.

Throughout the weekend, Lobkowicz Catering will prepare favorite Czech specialties, including goulash, sausage, potato pancakes and apple strudel and will also serve award-winning Lobkowicz wine and beer. And when a bit of rest is called for, a traditional tea room in the cellars will provide a welcome respite and add a bit of sweetness to the day.

Located just adjacent to the Castle, the childhood home of Antonín Dvořák, the renowned Czech composer, and the Church of St. Andrew, in whose choir Dvořák performed as a young boy, will also be open to the public.

For more detailed information, see Pottery Market.