Art historian specialising in the 19th century visual culture, especially in Slovakia, Hungary and Austria. I studied at the Department of Art History at the Comenius University in Bratislava, where I finished in 2010 my PhD. The main field of my interests: portraiture, landscape painting, collecting, international contacts. I have published essays and given papers on subjects such as different aspects of biedermeier, the works of the painter Ladislav Mednyánszky, Karol Marko sen., Ján Rombauer, Alojz Stróbl and some others. I curated and co-curated exhibitions at the Slovak National Gallery - From the academy into nature (2018-2019), Biedermeier (2015), Two landscapes (2014), Baroness Márgit Czóbel (2011), Ján Rombauer (2009), Alojz Stróbl (2006), Ladislav Mednyánszky (2003-2004). I am also author of the permanent exhibition of the painter Ladislav Mednyánszky at the Chateau Strážky, part of the Slovak National Gallery.
The Slovak painter, photographer, and nationalist Peter Michal Bohúň (1822 – 1879) was a sought-a... more The Slovak painter, photographer, and nationalist Peter Michal Bohúň (1822 – 1879) was a sought-after portraitist of his generation with good connections – especially with the Evangelical intelligentsia. One of the less researched topics with regards to his oeuvre are religious paintings commissioned for churches. The artist accepted the commissions predominantly for financial reasons. Based on the preserved materials – altar paintings he created mainly for Evangelical churches in the villages of Bátovce, Dovalovo, Krivá, Lovinobaňa, Lučivná, Mengusovce, Mládzovo, Partizánska Ľupča, and Veličná and in the town of Ružomberok –, his contribution to the development of 19th-century religious art on the territory of Slovakia can be studied. The article concentrates on P. M. Bohúň’s strategies with regards to the choice of themes for individual churches and on the communication with the parishes and Evangelical personalities of the day. As a case study, the article discusses the commission for the Evangelical church in Bátovce. Communication between the artist and the priest Pavol Gerengay (1825 – 1895) sheds light on the period strategies of commissioning altar paintings.
The manor house in Rusovce (Hun. Oroszvár, Ger. Carlburg), situated not far from Bratislava, was ... more The manor house in Rusovce (Hun. Oroszvár, Ger. Carlburg), situated not far from Bratislava, was built in the Neo-Gothic style by Franz Beer (1804 – 1861), the well-known Austrian architect of the monarchy’s upper classes. The radical rebuilding in 1841 – 1846 in Neogothic style was commissioned by Count Emmanuel Zichy Ferraris (1808 – 1877), whose lineage, the Zichy and later Zichy Ferraris family, owned Rusovce since the 17th century. The immediate predecessor of the current structure was a Neoclassical-Biedermeier three-storey country seat, located within an English-style park. Though the Neogothic house was made habitable by 1845 – 1846, Count Emmanuel Zichy Ferraris did not enjoy it for long. Complicated family affairs meant that the stately home was visited more often by other relations in the 1850s, and it was gradually taken over by Count Felix Zichy Ferraris, who decided to sell it. Between 1872 and 1890, the seat was owned by Count Hugo Henckel, later by Baron Rothschild for a short while, and after 1906 by Princess Stephanie of Belgium and her second husband, Elemer Lónyay. During this time, small interior alterations and building works also took place. The paper is concentrated at the evaluation of one vitally important document of the entire rebuilding process, the surviving account book, which includes the payment records of individual activities and services. This source was completely unknown for previous researchers and provides considerably more details about the process and personalities involved in the entire project of this chateau. A hard-bound volume, it contains a great number of entries from 1841 – 1846. Though the project was the work of the credited architect Franz Beer, it is now clear that the entire building process at the accounting level was directed by the Count’s secretary Béla (Adalbert) Szabó, who authorized most of the payments. Up to now, the published literature regularly assumed that Beer was the architect and Ignatz Feigler senior (1791 – 1847) the chief builder. It was unclear who holds credit for the remaining painting and sculpture works, as well as the identity of the other craftsmen, and the account book has thrown more light on these problems.
Katarína Beňová - Katarína Kolbiarz Chmelinová (eds.): Mecénstvo umenia okolo roku 1800. K pamiatkam výtvarného umenia a architektúry z obdobia neskorého osvietenstva (nielen) na Slovensku, Bratislava 2020, s. 40-77., 2020
This case study focuses on the activities of Achatius Gottlieb Rähmel (1732 - 1810), a little-kno... more This case study focuses on the activities of Achatius Gottlieb Rähmel (1732 - 1810), a little-known painter originally from Berlin, whose work is connected with Prague, Vienna and Bratislava (Pressburg). The in-between period around 1800 was reflected in his interpretation of individual portraits and refers to the adaptation of foreign painters active in our enviroment, as in the case of Danish artists Jan Jakub Stunder or Ján Donát from Germany. Rähmel also belongs to this group.
Part of this paper is the catalogue raisonné of Rähmel works and the testament of his wife, important document reflecting his life in Vienna and Bratislava. It is available for the readers as another post at academia.edu. See the section Drafts.
Katarína Beňová - Katarína Kolbiarz Chmelinová (eds.): Mecénstvo umenia okolo roku 1800. K pamiatkam výtvarného umenia a architektúry z obdobia neskorého osvietenstva (nielen) na Slovensku., 2020
Katarína Beňová: Doterajšia reflexia umenia okolo roku 1800 v našom prostredí, alebo stav bádania... more Katarína Beňová: Doterajšia reflexia umenia okolo roku 1800 v našom prostredí, alebo stav bádania. In: Katarína Beňová - Katarína Kolbiarz Chmelinová (eds.): Mecénstvo umenia okolo roku 1800. K pamiatkam výtvarného umenia a architektúry z obdobia neskorého osvietenstva (nielen) na Slovensku. Bratislava 2020, s. 12-24.
We are the last country from Central Europe to address the theme of art patronage. on one hand, this is due to the long-term orientation of Slovak art history ont he concept of Slovak or national art and the related model of territorial or regional definition. The study is presenting the actual basis of the research regarding the topic of art patronage around 1800.
Vojtech (Béla) Tilkovský, the art historian, art critic, radio editor and journalist, is not well... more Vojtech (Béla) Tilkovský, the art historian, art critic, radio editor and journalist, is not well known among art historians. His primary research focused on painter Dominik Skutezky (Skutecký), about whom he wrote his masters' thesis and dissertation, and in 1954 his monograph. Tilkovský also sought out teaching positions. After several attempts at the Slovak School of Technology in 1955, he became a part-time lecturer of art history at his alma mater (Comenius University). His art research of the 19 th century was interrupted several times, first by the Slovak State, the defence of his position within this state and subsequently by a change in the political situation in 1948. Although he could not publish continuously, his publishing activities in Slovakia, Czechia and Hungary are relatively abundant and essential for this period.
Ladislav Mednyánszky Denníky 1877 - 1918. Výber z umelcových zachovaných denníkov a listov., 2019
Ladislav Mednyánszky (1852 - 1919) is one of the prominent representatives of Central European pa... more Ladislav Mednyánszky (1852 - 1919) is one of the prominent representatives of Central European painting of the last third of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Mednyánszky's improving painting skills brought about a change of themes (landscape by night, nature in fog, storm, rain, and morning dusk). Direct observations of nature in the field, about which he frequently kept written records, were part of his creative process. His comments about the state of light in a given situation or time indicated when the sketch was made (morning, dusk, sunset) next to the individual drawings and sketches of nature are found in his diaries. In 2019 Slovak National Gallery published the second Slovak edition of the diaries and correspondence of the painter put together by Csilla Markója, István Bardoly and Katarína Beňová.
Remeslo má zlaté dno... Cechy, živnosti, manufaktúry a továrne v dejinách Slovenska, 2015
The panel (guild) fund of painters, gilders and varnishers (Maler, Vergolder und Laquirer) is pre... more The panel (guild) fund of painters, gilders and varnishers (Maler, Vergolder und Laquirer) is preserved in the Bratislava City Archive. Founded in December 18th, 1801, the panel differed from the other guilds because of the merged not only craftsmen and tradesmen but also artists active in the city. Among its members there were productive Anton Zollinger, Franz Leonard Hess, Karl Mayer (Maurer), Henrich Morellm Tobias Szeleczky, Sebastian Feitzelmayer, Sebastian Majsch and others. Their activities culminated in the late 1830s and in the comming decade. During this period of time, we can find the highest number of artists active there and within the different specialties the most of the common were academic painters. Unfortunatelly, the sources of their activities directly for the guild weren´t preserved. The basic information of their acitivities were completed by the further research of registers of birth, local periodicals and other sources.
Pochopit vteřinu. Prožívaní času v české kultuře 19. století., 2019
An album of drawings from the life of the family of Július (Gyula) Odescalchi. Pastimes in the li... more An album of drawings from the life of the family of Július (Gyula) Odescalchi. Pastimes in the lives of the aristocracy during the Biedermeier period. The subject of time and its meaning for man and society in the 19th century can be applied in numerous ways tot he everyday lives of citizens. The reflection of time and the everyday life of the aristocracy during the Biedermeier period can be used as a case study. The way time was spent during the lives of the aristocracy can be divided into education, leisure and hobbies, but even the latter was based in the family and political responsibilities of the aristocrat in question. An example of the utilization of idnividual time is provided by the artistically designed album of scenes from the life of the Hungarian aristocrat Július (Gyula) Odescalchi (1828 - 1895). This has come down to us in the form of coloured drawings in the Slovak National Gallery collection in Bratislava. Odescalchi took part in the revolution as a member of the National Guard, and after the defeat he briefly had to leave Hungary for exile in Switzerland. The preserved album is a sample of an observation document over four years, when the fortunes of the young aristocrat Odescalchi were rapidly changing. The album is also a unique testimony of the revolutionary years 1848/1849 and the changes taking place in Hungary. Some of the drawings were evidently inspired by the graphic output of the period, and the drawings are often of a humorous nature. The activities portrayed within the context of the political changes at the time can make us aware of the passage of time, as well as the experience of pleasant and precarious situations in this aristocrat´s life.
Conference book from December 2017, which was held in the Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie.
Anstract... more Conference book from December 2017, which was held in the Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie. Anstract The Biedermeier era was focused on family life and all related activities, of which art education constituted an integral part. Most young men and women were educated in drawing, very often by professional artists. In the case of women, the majority of art academies did not accept female students, with the brief exception of the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Talented young women from painters’ households had an advantage and received training at home. The female painters’ approach to art often brought new, women-centred themes, refl ecting as a result the quotidian world of domestic and family care, hobbies and social occasions. Aside from professional women artists, some talented amateurs and particularly certain members of the aristocracy also deserve attention. The paper will concentrate on the output of amateur women artists active in the Austrian Empire (among them women from noble families like the Zichy Ferraris, Lobkowiczes, Schwarzenbergs, Esterházys, Erdődys and many others) during the Biedermeier era.
During the second half of the 19th century sacral painting increased in the area of the Upper Hun... more During the second half of the 19th century sacral painting increased in the area of the Upper Hungary (now Slovakia). By this time the main reason was quite productive rise of building of a new churches or renovation of the former ones. In this territory it was mostly the activity of the specialist for the sacral art, who under the conductorship of their donors and submitters influenced it. One of them was a member of the Franciscan order and painter Konrád Švestka (Schwestka, 1833 – 1907), active mainly during the second half of the 19th century. He worked namely the Salvatorian province as a sculptor, church interior designer, restorer and renovator. The second important personality in sacral painting was the painter, geologist and scientist, Slovak patriot Jozef Božetech Klemens (1817 – 1883) who primarily operated in the area of today's Slovakia. In a relation to their generation, Švestka and Klemens seem as a completion of one stage of development. In contrast to the votaries of Modernism (for example the Beuron Art School), artists of sacral-historical compositions (such as Mihály Munkácsy), by practice, realization and ways of thinking, they were evidently tied to the older tradition of modern times. Their art and renovations were the service to God, and reflected the tastes of the ones that commissioned them, where the Nazarene tradition belonged to frequently used.
Collection of nine portraits from the merchant family Jurenák in Pressburg (now Bratislava) is da... more Collection of nine portraits from the merchant family Jurenák in Pressburg (now Bratislava) is dated into the first half of the 19th century. The Jurenák family belongs to the privileged city higher merchant class and was connecte with other representatives from family Scherz, Frohlich and Siebenfreunds. The first group of portraits is from the classicism period made by Vienesse painter Johann Peter Krafft and they belog to his first private commissions outside Vienna. The second group is the typical example of biedermeier portrait made mostly by the Italian origin, portrait painter Jacob Marastoni, who worked in the city between 1833 - 1836. Already in 1831 he was in contact with the family in Terst. The only group portrait was made by the German painter Ferdinand von Lütgendorff, very long time in Slovak literature atributed to F.G.Waldmüller.
Aquisition of works on paper by painter Ladislav Mednyánszky in Slovak national gallery in Bratis... more Aquisition of works on paper by painter Ladislav Mednyánszky in Slovak national gallery in Bratislava.
Three major representatives of portrait painting in Pressburg (Bratislava) in the years 1815 - 18... more Three major representatives of portrait painting in Pressburg (Bratislava) in the years 1815 - 1848 were Ferdinand von Lutgendorff, Jakub Marastoni and Friedrich Lieder. The study is oriented on the main genre of their work portraiture during the biedermeier era.
Works of art exhibited in the Saint Anne´s Building of Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna between 178... more Works of art exhibited in the Saint Anne´s Building of Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna between 1786 - 1864 with the focus on artists originally from the Upper Hungary region. For the Hungarian (now Slovakian) artists the opportunity to exhibit theirart works in Vienna was an important experience for their creative work.
Markó Károly és köre Mítosztól a Képig. Hessky, Orsolya – Bellák Gábor – Dragon, Zoltán (eds.), Budapešť 2011, 2011
The paper is focused on the early career of the painter Karl Marko the Older in his native city L... more The paper is focused on the early career of the painter Karl Marko the Older in his native city Levoča and activities for the Bishop Ladislav Esterházy in Rožňava (Rozsnyó). The research at the Levoča archive has largelly contributed to revealing some aspects and circumstances from the painter life.
„Bella Italia“ or research project VEGA No. 1/0397/13 „Artistic interactions between Italy and ... more „Bella Italia“ or research project VEGA No. 1/0397/13 „Artistic interactions between Italy and Slovakia in the 19th century“
The text provides a general overview of the research program, running in the years 2013-2015 and sponsored by the Slovak agency for scientific grants VEGA, summarizing its aims, its points of departure, and its basic characteristics. The research for this project was performed by five members of the research team, institutionally adherent to the Comenius University, Faculty of Arts – Dana Bořutová, Katarína Beňová, Viera Bartková, Štefan Oriško and Eva Specogna Kotláriková. While the principal scientific goal, i. e. the examination of artistic relations between the Italian culture and the 19th century Slovakia, had no antecedent in the context of Slovakian art historical research so far, the text also reports on relevant sources and literature aa well as the methodology. The scientific results brought by members of the team represent a number of studies illuminating diverse aspects of the topic: Italian travels of the „ungherese“ (i. e. Slovakian, then Upper-Hungarian) artists and specific circumstances of their activities in Rome (František von Balassa, Eduard Spiro, Štefan Ferenczy, Karol Marko older, Karol Ľudovít Libay); profiles of important personalities influencing the artists´ life in Rome (Anton Apponyi), or informing the architecture of the Habsburg Monarchy in the first half of 19th century (Pietro Nobile); impact of Leopoldo Cicognara methods on architectural documentation for the sake of monument preservation.
The Slovak painter, photographer, and nationalist Peter Michal Bohúň (1822 – 1879) was a sought-a... more The Slovak painter, photographer, and nationalist Peter Michal Bohúň (1822 – 1879) was a sought-after portraitist of his generation with good connections – especially with the Evangelical intelligentsia. One of the less researched topics with regards to his oeuvre are religious paintings commissioned for churches. The artist accepted the commissions predominantly for financial reasons. Based on the preserved materials – altar paintings he created mainly for Evangelical churches in the villages of Bátovce, Dovalovo, Krivá, Lovinobaňa, Lučivná, Mengusovce, Mládzovo, Partizánska Ľupča, and Veličná and in the town of Ružomberok –, his contribution to the development of 19th-century religious art on the territory of Slovakia can be studied. The article concentrates on P. M. Bohúň’s strategies with regards to the choice of themes for individual churches and on the communication with the parishes and Evangelical personalities of the day. As a case study, the article discusses the commission for the Evangelical church in Bátovce. Communication between the artist and the priest Pavol Gerengay (1825 – 1895) sheds light on the period strategies of commissioning altar paintings.
The manor house in Rusovce (Hun. Oroszvár, Ger. Carlburg), situated not far from Bratislava, was ... more The manor house in Rusovce (Hun. Oroszvár, Ger. Carlburg), situated not far from Bratislava, was built in the Neo-Gothic style by Franz Beer (1804 – 1861), the well-known Austrian architect of the monarchy’s upper classes. The radical rebuilding in 1841 – 1846 in Neogothic style was commissioned by Count Emmanuel Zichy Ferraris (1808 – 1877), whose lineage, the Zichy and later Zichy Ferraris family, owned Rusovce since the 17th century. The immediate predecessor of the current structure was a Neoclassical-Biedermeier three-storey country seat, located within an English-style park. Though the Neogothic house was made habitable by 1845 – 1846, Count Emmanuel Zichy Ferraris did not enjoy it for long. Complicated family affairs meant that the stately home was visited more often by other relations in the 1850s, and it was gradually taken over by Count Felix Zichy Ferraris, who decided to sell it. Between 1872 and 1890, the seat was owned by Count Hugo Henckel, later by Baron Rothschild for a short while, and after 1906 by Princess Stephanie of Belgium and her second husband, Elemer Lónyay. During this time, small interior alterations and building works also took place. The paper is concentrated at the evaluation of one vitally important document of the entire rebuilding process, the surviving account book, which includes the payment records of individual activities and services. This source was completely unknown for previous researchers and provides considerably more details about the process and personalities involved in the entire project of this chateau. A hard-bound volume, it contains a great number of entries from 1841 – 1846. Though the project was the work of the credited architect Franz Beer, it is now clear that the entire building process at the accounting level was directed by the Count’s secretary Béla (Adalbert) Szabó, who authorized most of the payments. Up to now, the published literature regularly assumed that Beer was the architect and Ignatz Feigler senior (1791 – 1847) the chief builder. It was unclear who holds credit for the remaining painting and sculpture works, as well as the identity of the other craftsmen, and the account book has thrown more light on these problems.
Katarína Beňová - Katarína Kolbiarz Chmelinová (eds.): Mecénstvo umenia okolo roku 1800. K pamiatkam výtvarného umenia a architektúry z obdobia neskorého osvietenstva (nielen) na Slovensku, Bratislava 2020, s. 40-77., 2020
This case study focuses on the activities of Achatius Gottlieb Rähmel (1732 - 1810), a little-kno... more This case study focuses on the activities of Achatius Gottlieb Rähmel (1732 - 1810), a little-known painter originally from Berlin, whose work is connected with Prague, Vienna and Bratislava (Pressburg). The in-between period around 1800 was reflected in his interpretation of individual portraits and refers to the adaptation of foreign painters active in our enviroment, as in the case of Danish artists Jan Jakub Stunder or Ján Donát from Germany. Rähmel also belongs to this group.
Part of this paper is the catalogue raisonné of Rähmel works and the testament of his wife, important document reflecting his life in Vienna and Bratislava. It is available for the readers as another post at academia.edu. See the section Drafts.
Katarína Beňová - Katarína Kolbiarz Chmelinová (eds.): Mecénstvo umenia okolo roku 1800. K pamiatkam výtvarného umenia a architektúry z obdobia neskorého osvietenstva (nielen) na Slovensku., 2020
Katarína Beňová: Doterajšia reflexia umenia okolo roku 1800 v našom prostredí, alebo stav bádania... more Katarína Beňová: Doterajšia reflexia umenia okolo roku 1800 v našom prostredí, alebo stav bádania. In: Katarína Beňová - Katarína Kolbiarz Chmelinová (eds.): Mecénstvo umenia okolo roku 1800. K pamiatkam výtvarného umenia a architektúry z obdobia neskorého osvietenstva (nielen) na Slovensku. Bratislava 2020, s. 12-24.
We are the last country from Central Europe to address the theme of art patronage. on one hand, this is due to the long-term orientation of Slovak art history ont he concept of Slovak or national art and the related model of territorial or regional definition. The study is presenting the actual basis of the research regarding the topic of art patronage around 1800.
Vojtech (Béla) Tilkovský, the art historian, art critic, radio editor and journalist, is not well... more Vojtech (Béla) Tilkovský, the art historian, art critic, radio editor and journalist, is not well known among art historians. His primary research focused on painter Dominik Skutezky (Skutecký), about whom he wrote his masters' thesis and dissertation, and in 1954 his monograph. Tilkovský also sought out teaching positions. After several attempts at the Slovak School of Technology in 1955, he became a part-time lecturer of art history at his alma mater (Comenius University). His art research of the 19 th century was interrupted several times, first by the Slovak State, the defence of his position within this state and subsequently by a change in the political situation in 1948. Although he could not publish continuously, his publishing activities in Slovakia, Czechia and Hungary are relatively abundant and essential for this period.
Ladislav Mednyánszky Denníky 1877 - 1918. Výber z umelcových zachovaných denníkov a listov., 2019
Ladislav Mednyánszky (1852 - 1919) is one of the prominent representatives of Central European pa... more Ladislav Mednyánszky (1852 - 1919) is one of the prominent representatives of Central European painting of the last third of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Mednyánszky's improving painting skills brought about a change of themes (landscape by night, nature in fog, storm, rain, and morning dusk). Direct observations of nature in the field, about which he frequently kept written records, were part of his creative process. His comments about the state of light in a given situation or time indicated when the sketch was made (morning, dusk, sunset) next to the individual drawings and sketches of nature are found in his diaries. In 2019 Slovak National Gallery published the second Slovak edition of the diaries and correspondence of the painter put together by Csilla Markója, István Bardoly and Katarína Beňová.
Remeslo má zlaté dno... Cechy, živnosti, manufaktúry a továrne v dejinách Slovenska, 2015
The panel (guild) fund of painters, gilders and varnishers (Maler, Vergolder und Laquirer) is pre... more The panel (guild) fund of painters, gilders and varnishers (Maler, Vergolder und Laquirer) is preserved in the Bratislava City Archive. Founded in December 18th, 1801, the panel differed from the other guilds because of the merged not only craftsmen and tradesmen but also artists active in the city. Among its members there were productive Anton Zollinger, Franz Leonard Hess, Karl Mayer (Maurer), Henrich Morellm Tobias Szeleczky, Sebastian Feitzelmayer, Sebastian Majsch and others. Their activities culminated in the late 1830s and in the comming decade. During this period of time, we can find the highest number of artists active there and within the different specialties the most of the common were academic painters. Unfortunatelly, the sources of their activities directly for the guild weren´t preserved. The basic information of their acitivities were completed by the further research of registers of birth, local periodicals and other sources.
Pochopit vteřinu. Prožívaní času v české kultuře 19. století., 2019
An album of drawings from the life of the family of Július (Gyula) Odescalchi. Pastimes in the li... more An album of drawings from the life of the family of Július (Gyula) Odescalchi. Pastimes in the lives of the aristocracy during the Biedermeier period. The subject of time and its meaning for man and society in the 19th century can be applied in numerous ways tot he everyday lives of citizens. The reflection of time and the everyday life of the aristocracy during the Biedermeier period can be used as a case study. The way time was spent during the lives of the aristocracy can be divided into education, leisure and hobbies, but even the latter was based in the family and political responsibilities of the aristocrat in question. An example of the utilization of idnividual time is provided by the artistically designed album of scenes from the life of the Hungarian aristocrat Július (Gyula) Odescalchi (1828 - 1895). This has come down to us in the form of coloured drawings in the Slovak National Gallery collection in Bratislava. Odescalchi took part in the revolution as a member of the National Guard, and after the defeat he briefly had to leave Hungary for exile in Switzerland. The preserved album is a sample of an observation document over four years, when the fortunes of the young aristocrat Odescalchi were rapidly changing. The album is also a unique testimony of the revolutionary years 1848/1849 and the changes taking place in Hungary. Some of the drawings were evidently inspired by the graphic output of the period, and the drawings are often of a humorous nature. The activities portrayed within the context of the political changes at the time can make us aware of the passage of time, as well as the experience of pleasant and precarious situations in this aristocrat´s life.
Conference book from December 2017, which was held in the Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie.
Anstract... more Conference book from December 2017, which was held in the Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie. Anstract The Biedermeier era was focused on family life and all related activities, of which art education constituted an integral part. Most young men and women were educated in drawing, very often by professional artists. In the case of women, the majority of art academies did not accept female students, with the brief exception of the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Talented young women from painters’ households had an advantage and received training at home. The female painters’ approach to art often brought new, women-centred themes, refl ecting as a result the quotidian world of domestic and family care, hobbies and social occasions. Aside from professional women artists, some talented amateurs and particularly certain members of the aristocracy also deserve attention. The paper will concentrate on the output of amateur women artists active in the Austrian Empire (among them women from noble families like the Zichy Ferraris, Lobkowiczes, Schwarzenbergs, Esterházys, Erdődys and many others) during the Biedermeier era.
During the second half of the 19th century sacral painting increased in the area of the Upper Hun... more During the second half of the 19th century sacral painting increased in the area of the Upper Hungary (now Slovakia). By this time the main reason was quite productive rise of building of a new churches or renovation of the former ones. In this territory it was mostly the activity of the specialist for the sacral art, who under the conductorship of their donors and submitters influenced it. One of them was a member of the Franciscan order and painter Konrád Švestka (Schwestka, 1833 – 1907), active mainly during the second half of the 19th century. He worked namely the Salvatorian province as a sculptor, church interior designer, restorer and renovator. The second important personality in sacral painting was the painter, geologist and scientist, Slovak patriot Jozef Božetech Klemens (1817 – 1883) who primarily operated in the area of today's Slovakia. In a relation to their generation, Švestka and Klemens seem as a completion of one stage of development. In contrast to the votaries of Modernism (for example the Beuron Art School), artists of sacral-historical compositions (such as Mihály Munkácsy), by practice, realization and ways of thinking, they were evidently tied to the older tradition of modern times. Their art and renovations were the service to God, and reflected the tastes of the ones that commissioned them, where the Nazarene tradition belonged to frequently used.
Collection of nine portraits from the merchant family Jurenák in Pressburg (now Bratislava) is da... more Collection of nine portraits from the merchant family Jurenák in Pressburg (now Bratislava) is dated into the first half of the 19th century. The Jurenák family belongs to the privileged city higher merchant class and was connecte with other representatives from family Scherz, Frohlich and Siebenfreunds. The first group of portraits is from the classicism period made by Vienesse painter Johann Peter Krafft and they belog to his first private commissions outside Vienna. The second group is the typical example of biedermeier portrait made mostly by the Italian origin, portrait painter Jacob Marastoni, who worked in the city between 1833 - 1836. Already in 1831 he was in contact with the family in Terst. The only group portrait was made by the German painter Ferdinand von Lütgendorff, very long time in Slovak literature atributed to F.G.Waldmüller.
Aquisition of works on paper by painter Ladislav Mednyánszky in Slovak national gallery in Bratis... more Aquisition of works on paper by painter Ladislav Mednyánszky in Slovak national gallery in Bratislava.
Three major representatives of portrait painting in Pressburg (Bratislava) in the years 1815 - 18... more Three major representatives of portrait painting in Pressburg (Bratislava) in the years 1815 - 1848 were Ferdinand von Lutgendorff, Jakub Marastoni and Friedrich Lieder. The study is oriented on the main genre of their work portraiture during the biedermeier era.
Works of art exhibited in the Saint Anne´s Building of Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna between 178... more Works of art exhibited in the Saint Anne´s Building of Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna between 1786 - 1864 with the focus on artists originally from the Upper Hungary region. For the Hungarian (now Slovakian) artists the opportunity to exhibit theirart works in Vienna was an important experience for their creative work.
Markó Károly és köre Mítosztól a Képig. Hessky, Orsolya – Bellák Gábor – Dragon, Zoltán (eds.), Budapešť 2011, 2011
The paper is focused on the early career of the painter Karl Marko the Older in his native city L... more The paper is focused on the early career of the painter Karl Marko the Older in his native city Levoča and activities for the Bishop Ladislav Esterházy in Rožňava (Rozsnyó). The research at the Levoča archive has largelly contributed to revealing some aspects and circumstances from the painter life.
„Bella Italia“ or research project VEGA No. 1/0397/13 „Artistic interactions between Italy and ... more „Bella Italia“ or research project VEGA No. 1/0397/13 „Artistic interactions between Italy and Slovakia in the 19th century“
The text provides a general overview of the research program, running in the years 2013-2015 and sponsored by the Slovak agency for scientific grants VEGA, summarizing its aims, its points of departure, and its basic characteristics. The research for this project was performed by five members of the research team, institutionally adherent to the Comenius University, Faculty of Arts – Dana Bořutová, Katarína Beňová, Viera Bartková, Štefan Oriško and Eva Specogna Kotláriková. While the principal scientific goal, i. e. the examination of artistic relations between the Italian culture and the 19th century Slovakia, had no antecedent in the context of Slovakian art historical research so far, the text also reports on relevant sources and literature aa well as the methodology. The scientific results brought by members of the team represent a number of studies illuminating diverse aspects of the topic: Italian travels of the „ungherese“ (i. e. Slovakian, then Upper-Hungarian) artists and specific circumstances of their activities in Rome (František von Balassa, Eduard Spiro, Štefan Ferenczy, Karol Marko older, Karol Ľudovít Libay); profiles of important personalities influencing the artists´ life in Rome (Anton Apponyi), or informing the architecture of the Habsburg Monarchy in the first half of 19th century (Pietro Nobile); impact of Leopoldo Cicognara methods on architectural documentation for the sake of monument preservation.
Ján Jakub Stunder (1759 - 1811). Nikde cudzincom. , 2021
Ján Jakub Stunder (1759 - 1811), a painter of Danish origin, was one of the proponents of the new... more Ján Jakub Stunder (1759 - 1811), a painter of Danish origin, was one of the proponents of the new style of Classicism, which became part of the fine art and culture around 1800 in the area of the former Kingdom of Hungary. The artist was connected with his birthplace in Copenhagen; however, he is generally neglected in overviews of the history of Danish art. His work brought him to Vienna, Pest (now Budapest), Levoča, Košice and Banská Bystrica. The experts participating in this book contributed to new information and knowledge related to Stunder´s life and work in a wider sense of the period scene and artistic practice. Not only in terms of artistic genres but as well as contribution to the contacts among the Freemason community or Protestant church.
Dominik Skutezky. Ars et Amor -Labor et Gloria, 2014
The catalogue “Ars et Amor – Labor et Gloria“ was put together
for the temporary exhibition under... more The catalogue “Ars et Amor – Labor et Gloria“ was put together for the temporary exhibition under the same title of until now unknown and less exhibited works of the painter Dominik Skutezky (Skutecký; 1849 – 1921) at the Central Slovakian Gallery in Banská Bystrica. The exhibition was intended as an extension to presentation of the artist’s work on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his only permanent exposition, which is administered by Central Slovakia Gallery in the authentic environment of the artist’s family villa in Banská Bystrica. The artist worked mostly in Vienna and Venice and settled down in Banská Bystrica in 1889. The intention was to include, alongside with text and exhibition picture catalogue, new knowledge and recent opinions from ongoing research about Skutezky’s work and life in deeper Slovak and Central-European context, as well as information about activities and modernization of permanent exposition. This way we also tried to fill in the void of absent updated catalogue issue on the occasion of the anniversary of artist’s permanent exposition. The catalogue consists of 4 studies entitled Ars et Amor – Labor et Gloria (Katarína Baraníková), Dominik Skutezky as a portraitist (Katarína Beňová), Market in Banská Bystrica - a painting study (Klára Kubičková) and Dominik Skutezky’s own villa (Klára Kubičková).
From the Academy to Nature
Forms of Landscape Painting in Central Europe 1860–1890
Central Euro... more From the Academy to Nature Forms of Landscape Painting in Central Europe 1860–1890
Central European plein-air landscape painting in the territory of Austria-Hungary from 1860 to 1890 has never been a topic of much attention. This publication is among the first to endeavour to map the work of painters who travelled between the Danube Monarchy (Donaumonarchie) and the fine arts centres of the day. One of the most important resources the landscapists drew on was the so-called Barbizon school. Artists of this grouping, like many of their followers throughout Europe, concentrated on capturing ephemeral natural features, striving to convey their personal perspectives of how they saw landscapes. Learning from the Barbizon school began appearing in these artists’ work in the 1860s to 1880s. Of particular note are the opportunities and personal contacts of Central European painters, as well as how they took on the new approach of the post-Romantic landscape. An entire cohort of artists – Tina Blau, Zdenka Braunerová, Václav Brožík, Lajos Deák Ébner, Antonín Chittussi, Eugen Jettel, László (Ladislav) Mednyánszky, Géza Mészöly, Mihály Munkácsy, László Paál, Soběslav Hippolyt Pinkas, Rudolf Ribarz, Wilhelm Riedel, Robert Russ, Emil Jakob Schindler, Béla Spányi and others – arrived at personal points of departure at the art academies of Vienna, Prague, and Munich as well as Düsseldorf and Paris. Then they gained essential experience in Barbizon and the other areas of France sought after by the plein-airists. We must likewise recall the influence of Dutch painting and visually appealing Italian settings. The plein-air landscape, or Freilichtmalerei, became a vehicle for new art trends, reaching from intimate and lyrical landscapes to Impressionism. The paysage intime (“intimate landscape”) with its focus on live reality and orientation on the environment of home and countryside facilitated the landscape’s gradual transformation toward modern art. Painters responded with compositional schemata frequently employing a low horizon as well as with painting techniques, discovering impasto brush work and a freer use of colour. In contrast to France, where the Barbizon school and Impressionism presented themselves as group movements, in this country they made their mark mostly as individuals. And even these could only do so if they had sufficient penchant and financial resources to travel directly to the heart of artistic life, or absorbed what the new landscapes had to offer at other and usually geographically closer centres of art. Landscape painting became a major genre in the 19th century, and in it the rapid development towards a modern conception of painting appeared most strikingly. This new conception gradually moved away from schemas, changing the choice of themes, pictorial forms, and how moods were captured. The generation of landscapists presented here realistically portrayed the natural world, and won esteem for their ability to depict their chosen theme or section of country, along with its unique atmosphere.
Main chapters: Points of Departure / From the Academy The Road to Barbizon Szolnok and Artists' Colonies Into Nature Drawing Study
The publication includes also a study by the Czech art historian Markéta Theinhardt, titled "Glad tidings from Barbizon. French post-Romantic landscapes and Central European painters."
The painter Jan (Johann, János) Rombauer lived and worked in Levoča, St. Petersburg and Prešov. T... more The painter Jan (Johann, János) Rombauer lived and worked in Levoča, St. Petersburg and Prešov. This cosmopolitan born to a craftsman´s family came to attention of the Spiš region quite early. Because of a good contacts in the spa Bardejov he got a link to the Russian nobility and lived for many years in St. Petersburg. After a succesful career there he moved back to Upper Hungary and settled down in Prešov. The book is a product of interdisciplinary cooperation between Slovak and Hungarian specialists and is intended to present the life and work of Rombauer in depth. Coauthors: Géza Galavics, Edit Szentesi, Szilveszter Terdik (HU), Alena Kredatusová, Peter Kónya (SK). The author of the project, book concept and main chapter as well as a curator of the exhibition in 2010 at the Slovak National Gallery: Katarína Beňová.
The exhibition catalogue was published at the 150th anniversary of the birth of Alojz Stróbl (185... more The exhibition catalogue was published at the 150th anniversary of the birth of Alojz Stróbl (1856 - 1926), an important figure of the middle European sculpture of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Although Stróble studied in Vienna and lived and worked in Budapest he was in a good contact with the Upper Hungary (now Slovakia) especially because of his family seat in Kráľová Lehota. The catalogue consist of the study of Katarína Beňová and František Bizub and the complete catalogue of Stróbl work.
In 2011, the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava commemorates the 120s birthday of Baroness Mar... more In 2011, the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava commemorates the 120s birthday of Baroness Margita Czóbel, the niece of painter Ladislav Mednyánszky (1852 - 1919). The catalogue introduces the art activities of this talented amateur painter in contect of the work of her uncle and also the Chateu Strážky (Nehre, Nagyor) with the family art collecton. Thanks to the activities of baroness the collection of paintings of Mednyánszky stayed intact during the Worl War second as well as during the communism era.
The book of texts from the international conference organized by Katarína Beňová, Department of ... more The book of texts from the international conference organized by Katarína Beňová, Department of Fine Arts at the Faculty of Arts, Comenius University and Slovak national gallery at the occasion of the exhibition Biedermeier.
The scientific catalogue published at the occasion of Biedermeier exhibition organized by the Slo... more The scientific catalogue published at the occasion of Biedermeier exhibition organized by the Slovak national gallery in Bratislava in 2015. The book is focuse on fine and applied art from biedermeier period in Slovak museums and galleries.
The current state of much national heritage in our country has been strongly influenced by the tu... more The current state of much national heritage in our country has been strongly influenced by the turbulent 20th century, during which ownership relations changed, and after 1918 and 1948 in particular the relatively well-preserved architectures and interiors were disrupted by sales, the transfers of artworks and often even the destruction of the original appearance of noble architectural monuments. The stately home in Rusovce, owned by the Zichy Ferraris until 1872, is one of the important buildings in our country that was affected by various building phases and continues to be in poor condition. A significant period of the house, and one which has since disappeared, was Classicism and Biedermeier, which spanned the period during 1800 – 1840. The appearance of the house, its interior and everyday life of the aristocracy has been preserved in a rich album of drawings which was compiled by Zichy Ferraris family members mostly from 1816 to 1833. It would be impossible today to reconstruct the interior furnishings of the house neither on the basis of its current condition, nor through other artworks or photographs of the period. The period with which we are primarily concerned in this publication is mostly known from drawings and watercolours, produced by both professionally trained painters and talented amateurs from the ranks of the aristocracy, in this case members of the Zichy Ferraris family. The publication Rusovce Manor House in Light of 19th Century Works of Art focuses on three principal areas, all of which are illuminated by the visual material of the art album, and which go beyond art history towards interdisciplinary study. The first theme is the Zichy Ferraris family and the house owners, a who’s who in the family hierarchy, their multifarious fates with a spotlight on their daily routines as well as their relationship to art. The second part of the publication explores the artistic schooling of talented female aristocrats, for whom drawing was a part of upbringing in the context of the 19th century position of women. At the same time it is important to mention the possibilities of artistic training for female artists, and their ability to work and exhibit in Central Europe. The third part focuses on the Rusovce house itself and its condition in the early 19th century, before the Neo-Gothic reconstruction.
The book reflects the actual research and as well as the circumstances of the art-historical rese... more The book reflects the actual research and as well as the circumstances of the art-historical research concerned with the 19th century art in Slovakia. It was the output from thee years long lasting research of the team of D.Boŕutová.
The book of texts from the international conference held in Bratislava on September 23, 2010 orga... more The book of texts from the international conference held in Bratislava on September 23, 2010 organised by Institute of Art History Bratislava, Department of Art History of the Comenius University and Goethe Institut Bratislava.
Monuments of the Franciscan order created in Slovakia in the 19th century and Konrád Švestka.
Th... more Monuments of the Franciscan order created in Slovakia in the 19th century and Konrád Švestka. The art of the 19th century and fine arts of religious orders have been paid more and more attention in Central Europe in recent decades. However, the process of uncovering the past is only at the beginning in Slovakia. Baroque art of religious orders is the field we know most about. We have also some information about the first half of the 20th century, mainly thanks to a monograph written about a monk Teodor Tekel. Monastic artists of the 19th century in Slovakia are almost unknown, though. The publication you are holding is rather small but based on research and uncovers a lot about monuments of the monastic culture. It focuses on Franciscan monuments in the Province of the Holiest Saviour, which had in the territory of our country in the second half of the 19th century 14 monasteries. Since there was one artist who was working for the majority of them, most of this book is dedicated to him. His name is Konrád Švestka. A “case study” depicts him not only as a person but also as a type of monastic artist in the 19th century, with a rather unknown role, scope and kind of work. Both authors of this book were following their previous research but got the final impulse to write the book when a part of Konrád Švestka´s personal estate was discovered and saved. There were more than 70 pictures, various graphic works, topographic works of the 17th and 18th century and various archives. All of it was donated to the collections of the Slovak National Gallery in 2009.
Catalogue raisonné of the painter A.G.Rähmel. Mentioned at the study available at www.academia.ed... more Catalogue raisonné of the painter A.G.Rähmel. Mentioned at the study available at www.academia.edu and also at the book: Katarína Beňová - Katarína Kolbiarz Chmelinová (eds.): Mecénstvo umenia okolo roku 1800. K pamiatkam výtvarného umenia a architektúry z obdobia neskorého osvietenstva (nielen) na Slovensku, Bratislava 2020, s. 40-77.
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Papers by Katarina Benova
more often by other relations in the 1850s, and it was gradually taken over by Count Felix Zichy Ferraris, who decided to sell it. Between 1872 and 1890, the seat was owned by Count Hugo Henckel, later by Baron Rothschild for a short while, and after 1906 by Princess Stephanie of Belgium and her second husband, Elemer Lónyay. During this time, small interior alterations and building works also took place.
The paper is concentrated at the evaluation of one vitally important document of the entire rebuilding process, the surviving account book, which includes the payment records of individual activities and services. This source was completely unknown for previous researchers and provides considerably more details about the process and personalities involved in the entire project of this chateau. A hard-bound volume, it contains a great number of entries from 1841 – 1846. Though the project was the work of the credited architect Franz Beer, it is now clear that the entire building process at the accounting level was directed by
the Count’s secretary Béla (Adalbert) Szabó, who authorized most of the payments. Up to now, the published literature regularly assumed that Beer was the architect and Ignatz Feigler senior (1791 – 1847) the chief builder. It was unclear who holds credit for the remaining painting and sculpture
works, as well as the identity of the other craftsmen, and the account book has thrown more light on these problems.
Part of this paper is the catalogue raisonné of Rähmel works and the testament of his wife, important document reflecting his life in Vienna and Bratislava. It is available for the readers as another post at academia.edu. See the section Drafts.
We are the last country from Central Europe to address the theme of art patronage. on one hand, this is due to the long-term orientation of Slovak art history ont he concept of Slovak or national art and the related model of territorial or regional definition. The study is presenting the actual basis of the research regarding the topic of art patronage around 1800.
In 2019 Slovak National Gallery published the second Slovak edition of the diaries and correspondence of the painter put together by Csilla Markója, István Bardoly and Katarína Beňová.
The subject of time and its meaning for man and society in the 19th century can be applied in numerous ways tot he everyday lives of citizens. The reflection of time and the everyday life of the aristocracy during the Biedermeier period can be used as a case study. The way time was spent during the lives of the aristocracy can be divided into education, leisure and hobbies, but even the latter was based in the family and political responsibilities of the aristocrat in question. An example of the utilization of idnividual time is provided by the artistically designed album of scenes from the life of the Hungarian aristocrat Július (Gyula) Odescalchi (1828 - 1895). This has come down to us in the form of coloured drawings in the Slovak National Gallery collection in Bratislava. Odescalchi took part in the revolution as a member of the National Guard, and after the defeat he briefly had to leave Hungary for exile in Switzerland. The preserved album is a sample of an observation document over four years, when the fortunes of the young aristocrat Odescalchi were rapidly changing. The album is also a unique testimony of the revolutionary years 1848/1849 and the changes taking place in Hungary. Some of the drawings were evidently inspired by the graphic output of the period, and the drawings are often of a humorous nature. The activities portrayed within the context of the political changes at the time can make us aware of the passage of time, as well as the experience of pleasant and precarious situations in this aristocrat´s life.
Anstract
The Biedermeier era was focused on family life and all related activities, of which art education constituted an integral part. Most young men and women were educated in drawing, very often by professional artists. In the case of women, the majority of art academies did not accept female students, with the brief exception of the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Talented young women from painters’ households had an advantage and
received training at home. The female painters’ approach to art often brought new, women-centred themes, refl ecting as a result the quotidian world of domestic and family care, hobbies and social occasions. Aside from professional women artists, some talented amateurs and particularly certain members of the aristocracy also deserve attention. The paper will concentrate on the output of amateur women artists active in the Austrian Empire (among them women from noble families like the Zichy Ferraris, Lobkowiczes, Schwarzenbergs, Esterházys, Erdődys and many others) during the Biedermeier era.
The text provides a general overview of the research program, running in the years 2013-2015 and sponsored by the Slovak agency for scientific grants VEGA, summarizing its aims, its points of departure, and its basic characteristics. The research for this project was performed by five members of the research team, institutionally adherent to the Comenius University, Faculty of Arts – Dana Bořutová, Katarína Beňová, Viera Bartková, Štefan Oriško and Eva Specogna Kotláriková.
While the principal scientific goal, i. e. the examination of artistic relations between the Italian culture and the 19th century Slovakia, had no antecedent in the context of Slovakian art historical research so far, the text also reports on relevant sources and literature aa well as the methodology. The scientific results brought by members of the team represent a number of studies illuminating diverse aspects of the topic: Italian travels of the „ungherese“ (i. e. Slovakian, then Upper-Hungarian) artists and specific circumstances of their activities in Rome (František von Balassa, Eduard Spiro, Štefan Ferenczy, Karol Marko older, Karol Ľudovít Libay); profiles of important personalities influencing the artists´ life in Rome (Anton Apponyi), or informing the architecture of the Habsburg Monarchy in the first half of 19th century (Pietro Nobile); impact of Leopoldo Cicognara methods on architectural documentation for the sake of monument preservation.
more often by other relations in the 1850s, and it was gradually taken over by Count Felix Zichy Ferraris, who decided to sell it. Between 1872 and 1890, the seat was owned by Count Hugo Henckel, later by Baron Rothschild for a short while, and after 1906 by Princess Stephanie of Belgium and her second husband, Elemer Lónyay. During this time, small interior alterations and building works also took place.
The paper is concentrated at the evaluation of one vitally important document of the entire rebuilding process, the surviving account book, which includes the payment records of individual activities and services. This source was completely unknown for previous researchers and provides considerably more details about the process and personalities involved in the entire project of this chateau. A hard-bound volume, it contains a great number of entries from 1841 – 1846. Though the project was the work of the credited architect Franz Beer, it is now clear that the entire building process at the accounting level was directed by
the Count’s secretary Béla (Adalbert) Szabó, who authorized most of the payments. Up to now, the published literature regularly assumed that Beer was the architect and Ignatz Feigler senior (1791 – 1847) the chief builder. It was unclear who holds credit for the remaining painting and sculpture
works, as well as the identity of the other craftsmen, and the account book has thrown more light on these problems.
Part of this paper is the catalogue raisonné of Rähmel works and the testament of his wife, important document reflecting his life in Vienna and Bratislava. It is available for the readers as another post at academia.edu. See the section Drafts.
We are the last country from Central Europe to address the theme of art patronage. on one hand, this is due to the long-term orientation of Slovak art history ont he concept of Slovak or national art and the related model of territorial or regional definition. The study is presenting the actual basis of the research regarding the topic of art patronage around 1800.
In 2019 Slovak National Gallery published the second Slovak edition of the diaries and correspondence of the painter put together by Csilla Markója, István Bardoly and Katarína Beňová.
The subject of time and its meaning for man and society in the 19th century can be applied in numerous ways tot he everyday lives of citizens. The reflection of time and the everyday life of the aristocracy during the Biedermeier period can be used as a case study. The way time was spent during the lives of the aristocracy can be divided into education, leisure and hobbies, but even the latter was based in the family and political responsibilities of the aristocrat in question. An example of the utilization of idnividual time is provided by the artistically designed album of scenes from the life of the Hungarian aristocrat Július (Gyula) Odescalchi (1828 - 1895). This has come down to us in the form of coloured drawings in the Slovak National Gallery collection in Bratislava. Odescalchi took part in the revolution as a member of the National Guard, and after the defeat he briefly had to leave Hungary for exile in Switzerland. The preserved album is a sample of an observation document over four years, when the fortunes of the young aristocrat Odescalchi were rapidly changing. The album is also a unique testimony of the revolutionary years 1848/1849 and the changes taking place in Hungary. Some of the drawings were evidently inspired by the graphic output of the period, and the drawings are often of a humorous nature. The activities portrayed within the context of the political changes at the time can make us aware of the passage of time, as well as the experience of pleasant and precarious situations in this aristocrat´s life.
Anstract
The Biedermeier era was focused on family life and all related activities, of which art education constituted an integral part. Most young men and women were educated in drawing, very often by professional artists. In the case of women, the majority of art academies did not accept female students, with the brief exception of the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Talented young women from painters’ households had an advantage and
received training at home. The female painters’ approach to art often brought new, women-centred themes, refl ecting as a result the quotidian world of domestic and family care, hobbies and social occasions. Aside from professional women artists, some talented amateurs and particularly certain members of the aristocracy also deserve attention. The paper will concentrate on the output of amateur women artists active in the Austrian Empire (among them women from noble families like the Zichy Ferraris, Lobkowiczes, Schwarzenbergs, Esterházys, Erdődys and many others) during the Biedermeier era.
The text provides a general overview of the research program, running in the years 2013-2015 and sponsored by the Slovak agency for scientific grants VEGA, summarizing its aims, its points of departure, and its basic characteristics. The research for this project was performed by five members of the research team, institutionally adherent to the Comenius University, Faculty of Arts – Dana Bořutová, Katarína Beňová, Viera Bartková, Štefan Oriško and Eva Specogna Kotláriková.
While the principal scientific goal, i. e. the examination of artistic relations between the Italian culture and the 19th century Slovakia, had no antecedent in the context of Slovakian art historical research so far, the text also reports on relevant sources and literature aa well as the methodology. The scientific results brought by members of the team represent a number of studies illuminating diverse aspects of the topic: Italian travels of the „ungherese“ (i. e. Slovakian, then Upper-Hungarian) artists and specific circumstances of their activities in Rome (František von Balassa, Eduard Spiro, Štefan Ferenczy, Karol Marko older, Karol Ľudovít Libay); profiles of important personalities influencing the artists´ life in Rome (Anton Apponyi), or informing the architecture of the Habsburg Monarchy in the first half of 19th century (Pietro Nobile); impact of Leopoldo Cicognara methods on architectural documentation for the sake of monument preservation.
for the temporary exhibition under the same title of until now
unknown and less exhibited works of the painter Dominik Skutezky
(Skutecký; 1849 – 1921) at the Central Slovakian Gallery in Banská Bystrica. The exhibition was intended as an extension
to presentation of the artist’s work on the occasion of the 20th
anniversary of his only permanent exposition, which is administered
by Central Slovakia Gallery in the authentic environment of the
artist’s family villa in Banská Bystrica. The artist worked mostly in
Vienna and Venice and settled down in Banská Bystrica in 1889.
The intention was to include, alongside with text and exhibition
picture catalogue, new knowledge and recent opinions from ongoing
research about Skutezky’s work and life in deeper Slovak and
Central-European context, as well as information about activities
and modernization of permanent exposition. This way we also tried
to fill in the void of absent updated catalogue issue on the occasion
of the anniversary of artist’s permanent exposition. The catalogue
consists of 4 studies entitled Ars et Amor – Labor et Gloria (Katarína
Baraníková), Dominik Skutezky as a portraitist (Katarína Beňová),
Market in Banská Bystrica - a painting study (Klára Kubičková) and
Dominik Skutezky’s own villa (Klára Kubičková).
Forms of Landscape Painting in Central Europe 1860–1890
Central European plein-air landscape painting in the territory of Austria-Hungary from 1860 to 1890 has never been a topic of much attention. This publication is among the first to endeavour to map the work of painters who travelled between the Danube Monarchy (Donaumonarchie) and the fine arts centres of the day. One of the most important resources the landscapists drew on was the so-called Barbizon school. Artists of this grouping, like many of their followers throughout Europe, concentrated on capturing ephemeral natural features, striving to convey their personal perspectives of how they saw landscapes. Learning from the Barbizon school began appearing in these artists’ work in the 1860s to 1880s. Of particular note are the opportunities and personal contacts of Central European painters, as well as how they took on the new approach of the post-Romantic landscape.
An entire cohort of artists – Tina Blau, Zdenka Braunerová, Václav Brožík, Lajos Deák Ébner, Antonín Chittussi, Eugen Jettel, László (Ladislav) Mednyánszky, Géza Mészöly, Mihály Munkácsy, László Paál, Soběslav Hippolyt Pinkas, Rudolf Ribarz, Wilhelm Riedel, Robert Russ, Emil Jakob Schindler, Béla Spányi and others – arrived at personal points of departure at the art academies of Vienna, Prague, and Munich as well as Düsseldorf and Paris. Then they gained essential experience in Barbizon and the other areas of France sought after by the plein-airists. We must likewise recall the influence of Dutch painting and visually appealing Italian settings. The plein-air landscape, or Freilichtmalerei, became a vehicle for new art trends, reaching from intimate and lyrical landscapes to Impressionism. The paysage intime (“intimate landscape”) with its focus on live reality and orientation on the environment of home and countryside facilitated the landscape’s gradual transformation toward modern art. Painters responded with compositional schemata frequently employing a low horizon as well as with painting techniques, discovering impasto brush work and a freer use of colour. In contrast to France, where the Barbizon school and Impressionism presented themselves as group movements, in this country they made their mark mostly as individuals. And even these could only do so if they had sufficient penchant and financial resources to travel directly to the heart of artistic life, or absorbed what the new landscapes had to offer at other and usually geographically closer centres of art.
Landscape painting became a major genre in the 19th century, and in it the rapid development towards a modern conception of painting appeared most strikingly. This new conception gradually moved away from schemas, changing the choice of themes, pictorial forms, and how moods were captured. The generation of landscapists presented here realistically portrayed the natural world, and won esteem for their ability to depict their chosen theme or section of country, along with its unique atmosphere.
Main chapters:
Points of Departure / From the Academy
The Road to Barbizon
Szolnok and Artists' Colonies
Into Nature
Drawing Study
The publication includes also a study by the Czech art historian Markéta Theinhardt, titled "Glad tidings from Barbizon. French post-Romantic landscapes and Central European painters."
The book is a product of interdisciplinary cooperation between Slovak and Hungarian specialists and is intended to present the life and work of Rombauer in depth. Coauthors: Géza Galavics, Edit Szentesi, Szilveszter Terdik (HU), Alena Kredatusová, Peter Kónya (SK). The author of the project, book concept and main chapter as well as a curator of the exhibition in 2010 at the Slovak National Gallery: Katarína Beňová.
The catalogue consist of the study of Katarína Beňová and František Bizub and the complete catalogue of Stróbl work.
The publication Rusovce Manor House in Light of 19th Century Works of Art focuses on three principal areas, all of which are illuminated by the visual material of the art album, and which go beyond art history towards interdisciplinary study. The first theme is the Zichy Ferraris family and the house owners, a who’s who in the family hierarchy, their multifarious fates with a spotlight on their daily routines as well as their relationship to art. The second part of the publication explores the artistic schooling of talented female aristocrats, for whom drawing was a part of upbringing in the context of the 19th century position of women. At the same time it is important to mention the possibilities of artistic training for female artists, and their ability to work and exhibit in Central Europe. The third part focuses on the Rusovce house itself and its condition in the early 19th century, before the Neo-Gothic reconstruction.
The art of the 19th century and fine arts of religious orders have been paid more and more attention in Central Europe in recent decades. However, the process of uncovering the past is only at the beginning in Slovakia. Baroque art of religious orders is the field we know most about. We have also some information about the first half of the 20th century, mainly thanks to a monograph written about a monk Teodor Tekel. Monastic artists of the 19th century in Slovakia are almost unknown, though. The publication you are holding is rather small but based on research and uncovers a lot about monuments of the monastic culture. It focuses on Franciscan monuments in the Province of the Holiest Saviour, which had in the territory of our country in the second half of the 19th century 14 monasteries. Since there was one artist who was working for the majority of them, most of this book is dedicated to him. His name is Konrád Švestka. A “case study” depicts him not only as a person but also as a type of monastic artist in the 19th century, with a rather unknown role, scope and kind of work. Both authors of this book were following their previous research but got the final impulse to write the book when a part of Konrád Švestka´s personal estate was discovered and saved. There were more than 70 pictures, various graphic works, topographic works of the 17th and 18th century and various archives. All of it was donated to the collections of the Slovak National Gallery in 2009.