Wenceslaus Hollar (1607–1677) left the Czech lands for England in 1636 to become a servant of Lord Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, who was a pre-eminent art collector. Hollar catalogued Arundelʼs rich collections, at the same time creating renditions of his seat and the surrounding landscape. He also published a portrait of his donor. With the outbreak of the English Civil War, Hollar replaced England for Antwerp in 1646, and continued to produce works of the same kind prolifically, creating numerous prints based on the works held in the Lordʼs collections. These were, for example, his famous series with butterflies and other insects and a cycle of rendered designs for applied arts from Hans Holbein. Hollar, however, also worked for the members of the royal House of Stuart and other commissioners from the circles of the royal court and the Earl of Arundel.
The cabinet will present the most distinguished examples of various prints which Hollar published in the services of English nobility.
Curator: Alena Volrábová
Venue: Schwarzenbeg Palace - Graphic Cabinet
