Graphic Cabinet in the Schwarzenberg Palace
Industrialist and businessman Vojtěch Lanna Jr. (1836–1909) successfully took up the entrepreneurial activities of his father and won himself the same good reputation. He devoted his energy and talent not only to business, but also to collecting and art patronage. Lanna invested large sums of money in his ample art collections, which rightly won international acclaim. His collecting activities also included art on paper – he soon amassed one of the world’s major collections of graphic art and drawings.
He did not, however, create collections for his own pleasure alone. He systematically supported public institutions with donations of art and money, becoming one of the major art patrons of the 19th century. His generous donations laid the foundation for, among others, today’s Collection of Prints and Drawings of the National Gallery in Prague. The prints on display were selected from Lanna’s major donations in 1883–1885 representing the work of graphic artists of the 16th–18th centuries displayed at a permanent exhibition in the Schwarzenberg Palace.
Curator: Petra Zelenková
