Lot information
Literature:HNOJIL Adam, Josef Max. Sculpture of Late Neoclassicism in Bohemia, Prague 2008, p. 62, no. 60 (repro); Adam Hnojil, Ferdinand V. And the fine art of his time, [in:] Jaroslav Sojka et al., Ferdinand V. Dobrotivý and the art of his time, Prague 2012, p. 338-339 (repro); Adam Hnojil, Liberation of sentiment, Forms of Central European Romanticism and Biedermeier, Hluboká nad Vltavou - Prague 2013, p. 113 (repro); One world is not enough. Treasures of 19th Century Art, Prague 2014.
Reproduced on p. 371, no. Cat. 531; One world is not enough, Prague - Litomyšl 2015 - exhibition catalog.
Exhibited:
2010, Oblast gallery Vysočiny in Jihlava, One world is not enough. Art of the 19th Century.
2012, Prague Castle Administration - Imperial Stables, The Last Crowned Bohemian King Ferdinand V. The Benevolent and the Art of His Time.
2013, Alšova South Bohemian Gallery in Hluboká nad Vltavou - Castle Riding Center, Liberation of Sentiment. Forms of Central European Romanticism and Biedermeier.
2014 Prague, Clam-Gallas palace - One world is not enough.
Reprise 2015 Smetanova Litomyšl, castle brewery.
The journey to the Italian sun belonged to the dreams of every European painter in the first half of the 19th century. Acknowledging excellent art was one of the primary tasks of students at academic schools. For this reason, various institutions and associations founded travel foundations that enabled artists to travel to Italy.
In Bohemia, the Klar family became famous for such support, as they founded their own Rome Prize in the 1830s. Its holder could go to Rome for a period of two to three years. The only condition that the artists had to fulfill after receiving it was the public display of Italian works and the creation of one work for the author's birthplace.
This prestigious award was won by the Chrastava painter Vilém Kandler, who also used it to the fullest. His work contains numerous references to the Italian environment. During his stay or shortly after his return, he created several representative, architecturally formed works, the concept of which oscillates between classical landscape and genre.
Among these paintings, Procession in the Coliseum stands out, which represents a very rare example of a composition by a Czech artist who chose this ancient monument as a subject.
It is characteristic of Kandler that, like his German colleagues, he imbues his Italian works with a romantic picturesque staffs of costumed Italian women or robbers robbing travelers.
In the case of the Colosseum, the thematic aspect is particularly attractive, contrasting the pagan and Christian traditions of the circus. In character, it is one of the most beautiful works of Czech romanticism, responding to similar works by Johann Anton Ramboux or Franz Ludwig Catel.
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