The core of this collection is composed of works transferred from
the department of the picture gallery of the Slovak Historical Museum
from 1950 to 1953. The majority of this set is constituted by the first
class works of Italian masters and to a lesser extent by the works of
Dutch and Holland masters. They come from the collections of the Pálffy
family, which were kept in the chateaus in Kráľová pri Senci and
Pezinok, and individual works from the estates of the Erdődy family in
Hlohovec, the Stummer family in Továrniky, the Brunschwick family in
Dolná Krupa and Raoul Kuffner in Sládkovičovo.
In 1953, the
nationalized works from the Chateau in Čakany were moved to the SNG
building; in 1961 these works were transferred to the collections of
this institution. The set contains the paintings of German and Austrian
masters. Among them, we can identify fragments of significant
collections, such as that of Adolf Kohner.
The collection was
markedly complemented by the works of various sources through the
collecting of nationalized estates from individual national committees
and various public institutions in the 1960s. A smaller portion of this
collection from Central Europe was acquired through purchase at auction
houses and lotteries in Berlin, Vienna, Budapest and Pressburg in the
second half of the 19th century. Other works were acquired by artists
Július Szentistvány in Vienna and Ján Fadrusz in Italy. Quite
exceptionally, their later owners are also known, Prince Buckingham of
Stowe, Marquis de Véri of Paris, Thomas François Granvell of Besançone
and Cornelis van der Geest of Antwerp. According to today's knowledge,
none of the works originated from the well-known collection of Habsburgs
exhibited at the castle of Pressburg, part of them found their way to
the free market in Budapest.
The creation of a separate
collection of European art was not planned when the SNG was founded.
Karel Šourek originally proposed a "study department of foreign
historical schools." However, Karol Vaculík, the longtime director of
the gallery, succeeded in creating the collection which today
incorporates over 550 works, through systematic purchases in
Czechoslovakia. Concerning new acquisitions, the curator's approach was
decisive from the very beginning. Understandably, it was also determined
by the accidental nature of availability and historical circumstances.
However the final status reveals a striving for diversity in terms of
geography, formality and meaning.
The most extensive part of
this Collection of European Painting constitutes of the works of the
Italian, Dutch and Holland schools from the 15th to 18th centuries. From
the historical point of view, less balanced collections are represented
by the Flemish, French, English and Spanish schools from the 16th to
18th centuries. Baroque works prevail in the representation of all
schools. In this spirit, the collection is implemented and
geographically and chronologically classified, offering a picture of the
transformation of the formal shape, various streams and significance,
particularly from the 16th to 18th centuries.
The works from
the turn of the 16th century represent the most valuable part of the
collection. The painting Carrying of the Cross by Hans von Aachen, which
was purchased from an antique shop in Prague in 1958, is one of the
rare expressions of delicate and sensual Mannerism. Prior to his service
at the court of Roman-German Emperor Rudolf II, Aachen was a renowned
artist in Munich. As a result of this purchase, the collections were
enriched by a unique work from the early period of this artist. Although
it was not transferred into graphic art work, almost ten period
replicas by several masters document the very intensive reaction towards
Carrying of the Cross, which was built on the contrasts of motions and
subtle forms.
Gillis Coignet (Congnet) the son of a goldsmith
master, who trained at a workshop which besides others produced various
measuring devices and astronomic apparatuses,undoubtedly acquired a
principal education. The intellectual dimension well grasps the works
that are non-traditionally signed Congnet invenit et fecit, i.e.,
thought of and depicted by. In the painting Mary Magdalena, he copes
with the model that was provided to him by Titian's Venus at her Toilet.
He reached out for a motif that anticipated the ancient sculpture Venus
Pudica. The invention emphasized in the signature is related to the
Christian interpretation of the ancient model.
Cinquecento
theoreticians gladly referred to the story of the painter Zeuxis, which
offered the correct principle of imitation. According to this legend,
the artist wanted to depict the most beautiful woman of the world,
Helen, and therefore he picked six women. Nature overcome by idealizing
and selection became the artistic principle. Francesco Vanni from the
Sienna circle is the artist of the meditative Mary Magdalena and a
multi-figural historical scene was captured by Andrea Vicentino from the
Venice circle. Several paintings also originate from the Florence
co-workers of Giorgio Vasari, the most significant theoretician and
representative of Mannerist doctrine.
The opinion swing in
favour of realism determined the character of the approaching 17th
century. Gradually it was accepted as an independent principle. Artistic
innovation and the strong realism of Caravaggio connected with his
dramatic chiaroscuro, determined the art of the 17th century.
The
painting of Caravaggio's follower and possibly model, Cecco del
Caravaggio (Francesco Boneri) Carrying of the Cross is the welcome
sensation of the collection. The strong light contrasts of individual
figures before the flat, slightly accented background not only model,
but particularly dramatize the scene. Subjectively connected figures
form a parody; they are subordinated to a strange psychological depth.
Giulio
Cesare Procaccini was the first true anti-Reformation painter of
Seicento in Milan. He was highly appreciated especially in church
circles, and thus became a sought after painter of altar paintings. The
Baptism of Christ is part of scattered cycle prepared most probably
according to a commission of the Brotherhood of the Holy Cross for the
Church of Santa Carlo. The emotionality due to the unusual usage of
lights is simultaneously manifested as a new Baroque content with formal
repercussions of Mannerism, such as elegant motions of figures and cold
tonality of chromatic impasto.
Caravaggio's influence also
left traces on the work of the significant French painter Simon Vouet,
who however strengthened the decorative aspect of expression. Still, the
depiction concentrated on the pronounced moment of the story remained
dominant. The face of Virginia Vezzi, Vouet's student and later his
wife, is shown in the profile of St Catherine.
The
independence of the artistic style and expression of the Dutch provinces
failed to overcome the influences imported from Italy. The
representatives of realistic expression could peacefully draw even from
domestic tradition and while consciously building on well-established
methods. Both ways lead to a discovery of the means of true depiction,
while oscillating between the descriptive and studied depiction of the
same visible world.
A number of excellent works document this
phase. The sensual Four Elements by Hendrick van Balen and Jan Brueghel
senior came from the famous Flemish artistic milieu of Antwerp, where
it also became part of the collection of Cornelis van der Geest, one of
the most important collections of that time.
The outer decorative form of the elegantly cold pair of representative portraits of Gerrit Schaep, ambassador of the United Dutch Provinces and his wife Johanna Visscher by David Bailly, created in Amsterdam, is manifested in a completely different way.