After more than fifty years, the exhibition will present the work of the most important Baroque artist in Bohemia - Petr Brandl (1668 Prague - 1735 Kutná Hora). It will present his monumental altarpieces, which have been restored for the purpose of this exhibition, as well as his portraits and very interesting genre paintings. The audience will also see Brandl's newly discovered works for the first time.
The exhibition is conceived as a narration of two parallel stories: the painter's works and his life. It is the artist's life, for which we have numerous archival documents, that is remarkable even for today's viewer, not only in its bohemian and revolting way, but also in its interesting contexts with the problems of our time - Brandl was a lifelong debtor, because he saw himself in the lifestyle of the aristocracy and the luxury he also wanted to indulge in. However, his debts landed him in jail several times. For this reason, too, he was not spared from court battles over alimony with his wife Helena. Brandl also had problems with the commissioners of his works, as he often failed to comply with the terms of the contract. The painter's exuberant life therefore inspired a contemporary play Three women and a hunter in love, which will be presented together with the exhibition (Geisslers Hofcomoedianten).
However, this does not change the fact that Brandl was the highest paid artist of his time, probably because of his very distinctive and original style and painting handwriting, in which we can observe certain parallels with Rembrandt's painting. The X-rays and macro-photographs of Brandl's works that will accompany the exhibition will give the visitor a glimpse into the inner workings of his painting.
(ngprague.cz/Jana Černá)
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