5.1 The Wrschowetz Collection
The art collector Count Felix Sekerka Count of Wrschowetz (1654–1720) was born at Budov Castle in Western Bohemia.1 His father, Balthazar Vladislav Sekerka von Sedcic Wrschowetz, had rebuilt the family castle in Baroque style in 1647. Felix Wrschowetz probably lived here until 1698, when he already had begun to collect paintings.2 In 1686 he had married Dorothea Wilhelmina Countess of Vehlen and Megen (1665–1703),3 who was from Netherlandish origin.4 After her death, Wrschowetz married Anna Victoria née Countess von Trapp (1692–1741), with whom he had a daughter, Victoria (born 1709) and a son, Karl Felix (1716–1752).5 Although several sources state that it is unclear whether Wrschowetz held a position at court or in the military, there is one mention that Wrschowetz was Imperial Chamberlain at court.6 He was not only a passionate art collector, but was also known for his love of poetry and botany. He was well acquainted with other eminent collectors, even outside of Bohemia. Count Anton Johann Nostitz (1652-1736) for example, was present on behalf of the emperor when Wrschowetz’s son Karl Felix was baptized in 1716 and became the child’s godfather.
In 1690, Wrschowetz bought a property on Na Dláždění or Dlážděná Street no. 1002 (since the 19th century Hybernská street no. 12) [1] in Prague’s New Town (Nové Město) from Polyxena Katerina von Gutstein.7 He renovated the palace complex (named Věžník Palace) in Baroque style, the garden [2] – probably in Italian style – included an artificial grotto with stalactites, a ‘sala terrena’ (open-air pavilion) and a bird aviary.8
The picture gallery of Count Wrschowetz in Prague was one of the most important art collections in Bohemia of its time. Two inventories of the Wrschowetz collection have been preserved. The first, an undated inventory with a list of 94 paintings, was discovered by the art historian Theodor von Frimmel (1853–1928) in the archive of Count Schönborn in Pommersfelden. Frimmel concluded that this list of paintings was offered for sale to the famous and renowned collector Lothar Franz von Schönborn (1655–1729), Archbishop-Elector of Mainz around 1700.9 However, the Elector did not purchase any of these paintings. The second inventory is a printed sales catalogue of 1723, three years after Wrschowetz’s death, with around 373 works of art.10 His widow sold the entire collection at the auction of his estate in Prague the same year.11 At this sale, Baron Raymond Leplat (1664–1742), collector and general surveyor of the royal collections of Saxony in Dresden, acquired 21 paintings on behalf of the Dresden Gallery. Other pictures were sold to the Nostitz Gallery in Prague, the Liechtenstein Collection in Vienna and other European collectors.
Wrschowetzs extensive collection consisted mostly of Flemish and Dutch paintings of the 17th- century, enriched with works by artists from Central Europe; works by Peter Boel (1622–1674), Joos de Momper II (1564–1635), Jacob Toorenvliet (1640–1719), David Vinckboons I (1576–1631), Theodoor Rombouts (1597–1637), Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), Jan Brueghel I (1568–1625), Roelant Savery (1576–1639) and Daniël Seghers (1590–1661). Furthermore, Wrschowetz owned Bohemian, German and also some – more expensive – Italian paintings. Also, he owned two copies after Italian Masters made by Rubens: Leda and the swan embracing, after a lost painting by Michelangelo (1475-1564) and an oil sketch with the Entombment after Titian (1488-1576).12 Unfortunately only a small part of collection has been identified. The emphasis on Flemish paintings can be explained by the strong cultural and political ties between Bohemia and the Royal court in Vienna with the Southern Netherlands, and by the presence of Flemish art dealers in the region. As seen in the circle diagram [3], the majority of his collection (28 %) consisted of still lifes (flower and hunting pieces) paintings, which were highly admired for their beauty, harmonious composition, bright colors, refined brushwork and small size. Apart from still lifes, his collection included history and biblical scenes (23 %), landscapes (18 %), genre pieces (13 %), portraits (12 %) and a small portion of unidentified subjects (6 %). It is not known from when Wrschowetz began collecting and whether he had inherited paintings from his family, but he probably built up his collection in a relatively short period of time in the last quarter of the 17th century.13
He must have been especially fond of the still lifes by Netherlandish Old Masters in his collection, as he commissioned contemporary local artists to create pendants paintings for them.14 Both Johann Rudolf Bys (1660–1738) and his pupil Johann Adalbert Angermeyer (1674–1740) received such commissions from the Count. At his request, these counterparts were painted in the style of the Old Masters and their compositions mirrored those of their models. Bys was already a respected painter and copyist, famous for his copies after Netherlandish artists such as Jan Brueghel I, Roelant Savery (1576–1639) and Hendrick van Balen (1573–1632); Angermeyer became the first local specialist in still life paintings in Bohemia.15
Before his death, around 1718, Count Wrschowetz already had sold a few paintings to his friend Anton Johann Nostitz, who had inherited a large collection of 1400 paintings from his half-brother František Antonin Berka z Dubá (1649-1706).16 Apparently, the Wrschowetz family had become impoverished and had to sell not only their paintings, but eventually their palace in Prague, including other collections of weapons, tapestries and Venetian mirrors.17 In 1732 the Dowager Countess of Wrschowetz sold the main family residence in Prague, including the second house in the garden facing Senovážné Square (no. 992–11), to Franz Joseph von Waldstein (1719–1758). At the same time, she sold several paintings to Waldstein; in 1736 he even acquired more (a total of 40) from the collection.18
1
The front of No. 12 Hybernská Street, which now houses the Grand Market Hotel
Photo: VitVit Wikipedia Commons, 2019
2
The Wrschowetz family coat of arms on the arch of the entry in the garden to the palace
3
Pie chart of genres in the Wrschowetz collection
Source: Ketelsen/von Stockhausen, 2002, vol. 3, pp. 2391–2392
Notes
1 Seifertová 2015, p. 53.
2 He sold the estate in 1698 to Petr Jáchym Campanus from Rösselfeld for 16.000 Rhine gold coins. Úlovec 2003 p. 71–78.
3 His son, Karl Felix (1716–1752) wrote a lamentation about his father who mourned his wife, Klag–Schrift über einem Todsfall eines Graffen seiner Gemahlin, 1723 “Lacrymae Felicis com. de Wrschowetz ... super mortem coniugis Dorotheae Wilhelmine natae com. de Velen, quas comes Felix ipse fecit”. The copy is probably preserved in the so-called Wunschwitz Collection, in the National Archives of the Czech Republic. Bibliografické databáse. Accessed 28 June 2021. https://knihoveda.lib.cas.cz/Record/3298000000489724.
4 Dorothea Wilhelmina Countess of Vehlen and Megen was the daughter of Ferdinand Godfried of Vehlen-Megen, the son of Alexander II the Younger of Vehlen Count of Megen (1599–1675), and Sophia Elisabeth of Limburg-Stirum and Bronckhorst (ca. 1630–1685), daughter of Herman Otto I of Limburg-Stirum, Count of Limburg-Stirum and Bronckhorst (1592–1644).
5 Chrytal/Herain 1913, pp. 169–170. They had one daughter, Victoria (b. 1709), who entered the Augustinian Order in Eichstatt (Germany) and a son Karl Felix (1716–1752). Karl Felix studied law in Vienna under the patronage of the emperor; he entered the service of the King of Bohemia and was in 1744 appointed as member of the Court of Appeal; he married in 1738 and died on 29 March 1752 after fighting in a dual, leaving behind three sons. Chrytal/Herain 1913, p. 170; Hojda 1991, p. 261.
6 ‘Kempinski v Paláci u Věžníku’, Pressonline.cz. Accessed 28 June 2021. https://www.pressonline.cz/tz/1239/kempinski_v_palaci_u_vezniku/.
7 Polyxena Katherina von Gutstein (Gutštejn) is most likely Polyxena Kateřina Vratislavová of Mitrovice (died 1702), widow of Maximilian Rudolf of Gutštejn (d. 1690). After her husband’s death, she married Jan Josef of Újezd (1686–1720). Hojda 1991, p. 260; “Vlčtejn Castle”, Czech-archaeology-news.estranky.cz. 15 December 2019. Accessed 28 June 2021. https://czech-archaeology-news.estranky.cz/articles/castellology-in-czech-republic/vlctejn-castle.html. Many owners came after Wrschowetz, including Count Františka z Věžníku, the Wallenstein family, Count of Vrtba who bequeathed the palace to the Lobkowicz family. The last private owner was Ferdinand Lobkowicz (1850–1926). Today, this building houses the Grand Mark Hotel.
8 Hojda 1991, p. 260; The coat of arms of Count Wrschowetz is still preserved above the entrance from the garden to the palace; it contains two crossed axes together with the so–called "vrší" – which is a wicker basket for catching fish (see fig. 3).
9 Frimmel 1892, pp. 22–26.
10 Toman 1887, pp. 14–24; the number of paintings according to Toman is incorrect, there were 380 pictures in the sales catalogue. Hojda 1991 p. 261.
11 RKDimages 46669 and RKDimages 240970.
12 Wrschowetz was approached by the heirs of the Reissmann picture gallery and was offered a painting depicting Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. Hojda 1991, p. 262; Reissmann is possibly Jan Jiří Reismann of Riesenberg, the Mayor of Prague 1684–1694, his collection included works by Karel Škréta (inv. 1694, 136 paintings). Genet/ Lottes 1996, p. 436.
13 These paintings are considered as early Nachwirkung paintings: ‘works by foreign artists made on commission to serve as pendants to Dutch or Flemish paintings’ (Van Leeuwen 2013, p. 12).
14 Wrschowetz sold a painting by Brueghel the Elder to Elector Johann Wilhelm von der Pfalz (1658–1716) for 4,000 écus, with the promise that Bys would make a copy for Wrschowetz. The copy was well received and praised by renowned art collectors. Seifertova 2015, p. 35; Count Wrschowetz offered two copies by Bys after the paintings from Jan Brueghel the Elder (part of a list of 94 paintings in total) to Lothar Franz von Schönborn (1655–1729), Elector of Mainz for 4,000 thalers, but he declined. Frimmel 1892, p. 24–25.
15 Count Anton Johann Nostitz purchased the selected paintings, previously offered to Elector Lothar Franz von Schönborn in 1718. Slavíček 1995, p. 454.
16 Wrschowetz had a series of tapestries in his collection, produced by Caspar der der Borgt (1540/1555–1610) and Hieronymus Le Clerc (1643–1722) based on the models by Lambert de Hondt II (1642–1708). Slavíček 2008, p. 71 note 36.
17 Bubryák 2018, p. 83.