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A powerful nobleman's rise and fall

Wallenstein show also offers a window onto a tumultuous time
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By Tony Ozuna
For The Prague Post
February 13th, 2008 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Devoted primarily to warfare, the paintings also offer revealing moments of repose.
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COURTESY PHOTO
Remnants from the battlefield.
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Albrecht of Waldstein and His Era

at Wallenstein Riding School Ends March 2. Valdštejnská 3, Prague 1–Malá Strana. Open Tues.–Sun. 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

The Albrecht of Waldstein exhibition, which has been extended by a month due to high interest, chronicles a nobleman’s rise and fall in Czech politics and provides a cultural and socio-historical account of the times in which he lived (1583–1634).
Wallenstein Palace (in the modern spelling), situated below Prague Castle, is a monumental early Baroque landmark built in the 1620s. To create space for his grandiose and highly controversial residence, Wallenstein purchased 26 houses, three gardens and the city’s limekiln (to supply construction material).
The most remarkable part of this feat is that Albrecht, the duke of Frýdlant, who lived like a king when times were good, was born in a poor settlement — Heřmanice, in east Bohemia — and raised for much of his youth as an orphan. He was more than ambitious and lucky; his riches were an absolute anomaly.
The life of Wallenstein is presented in four main sections, beginning with “The Beginning of his Career,” which charts his early successes and is aptly subtitled “In Defiance of Envy.” In this section there are paintings of victorious battles of the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire over the Ottoman Empire, in which Wallenstein made his name as a great military leader.
Dominating this section are large portraits of the duke and his family, especially his second wife and daughter, and other prominent contemporaries — counts, knights and especially generals. There are also paintings of the Virgin Mary, the Crucifixion and prominent Catholics, as Wallenstein’s wealth was ultimately tied to the success of the Church and the Holy Roman Empire in the era of the Thirty Years’ War, during which Catholics fought Protestants across the Continent, predominantly in Bohemia and Central Europe.
Wallenstein was a consummate collector with exquisite and expensive taste, and the majority of the works on display are from his own palace collections — that is, what wasn’t pillaged by foreign and domestic rivals after his death. Besides the numerous fine paintings, many of the objects on display are rarities, such as a set of four dollhouses, including one of the oldest and most precious of its kind in Europe, purchased for his daughter, Maria Elizabeth. Other highlights of the first section include large bronze statues made for the Wallenstein Garden as well as smaller bronze works, all made by Adriaen de Vries, one of the most famous sculptors of the era.
The second section, “Happy Lands,” features architectural plans and maps of regions across north Bohemia, estates such as Děčín and Liberec that Wallenstein acquired after his crucial role in the defeat of Protestant nobles at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620.
There is a separate subsection devoted to Johannes Kepler that contains scientific and astronomical instruments, along with numerous books, globes, compasses, coins and fine royal clothing of the period, as well as a portrait of Kepler by Hans von Aachen (made in 1612, and one of the finest in the show). Kepler, who came to Prague in 1600 as an assistant to Tycho Brahe, created horoscopes for Wallenstein, some of which are on view.
There are some surprisingly gory paintings in another area, which is otherwise devoted to wooden altars, religious reliefs and paintings of saints. St. Paul is show with his head cut off in the work of an unnamed Rudolfine painter. In The Torture of St. Agatha (1626), the poor saint has her breast sliced off, with blood gushing across her body and splattering those nearby.
The third section also has a high violence quotient, devoted to countless battles (military campaigns, grand victories and horrific defeats in the Thirty Years’ War), which are depicted in finely detailed drawings and paintings. There are also large glass cases with some of the most opulent, though effective, weaponry of the period, along with helmets, suits of armor, flags, drums, heralds, etc. that are featured in the nearby canvases.
Many of the most interesting paintings are of soldiers in moments away from the battlefield. Camp Follower by Jan van Bijlert (on loan from Utrecht’s Centraalmuseum) is an exceptional example.
Upstairs, the last section, titled “Immortal Beast,” is devoted to remarkable furniture from the period and, most importantly, to the duke’s demise. Albrecht was murdered by soldiers in 1634 in Cheb, west Bohemia, on the orders of his original benefactor, Ferdinand II. The reason for his murder is still a matter of debate, and his death inadvertently inspired nationalist revivals across Europe 100 years later.
Today, Wallenstein Palace is among the proudest architectural jewels of Prague and the home of the Senate. In the end, Wallenstein’s remaining family was left with very little, and a visitor to this show is left with one of the grim lessons of history: Whether there are kings or communists in the castle, when those in power want someone else’s property and art, they will exercise their “right” to take it.

Tony Ozuna can be reached at features@praguepost.com


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