Franz Anton Maulbertsch is one of the most outstanding representatives of Central European painting of the late Baroque period. His name can now be linked to a number of important murals and altarpieces in the interiors of Bohemian and Moravian churches. An unmissable epilogue and one of the commissions with which he introduced himself in Bohemia was the painting of the Philosophical Hall of the library of the Premonstratensian monastery in Prague at Strahov, where, at the request of the client, he followed up on a similar task he had presented two decades earlier in the library of the Premonstratensian monastery in Louka near Znojmo.

The exhibition presents not only a selection of Maubertsch’s extensive works produced in Moravia and Bohemia, but also a closer look at the workshop itself. In particular, through the works of Maulbertsch’s Viennese colleague and peer Felix Ivo Leicher (1726-1812), who stood outside the workshop operation, and also the almost a generation younger Josef Winterhalder Jr. (1743-1807), Maulbertsch’s former pupil, follower and repeated collaborator, who was especially active in the early years of his career within the workshop operation. Echoes of Maulbertsch’s distinctive style are represented by several other works, often difficult to grasp in terms of authorship.

The premises of Kroměříž Castle were not chosen for the exhibition randomly. In 1759, Maulbertsch commissioned the bishop of Olomouc, Leopold Bedřich of Egkhu, to paint the Liege Hall, which would become a natural part of the exhibition. Other murals and uniformly conceived church interiors executed by Maulbertsch’s workshop in Moravia and Bohemia will be highlighted directly in the exhibition by digital presentations. A richly illustrated catalogue will be published in cooperation with the Seminar of Art History of Masaryk University.

The exhibition organised by Olomouc Museum Of Art is available from 31 May to 29 September 2024.

More information: https://muo.cz/en/vystavy/maulbertsch-pinxit/