Bohemian Painters in Silesia in the Baroque Period. Career Paths and Recipes for Success

Abstract

The article presents a problem of artistic migration of painters from Bohemia to neighbouring Silesia in the Baroque period. It brings answers to the questions what paths of career they chose and what their typical recipes for success in this region were. The paper is based on the results of the four-year scientific project “Baroque painting in Silesia” (2012–2016). There is no doubt that Silesia was a convenient place to work for artists from Bohemia in the Baroque period, which was time of peace and economic prosperity for this region (1648–1740). Many of Bohemian painters were active on this territory. They not only produced various works (oil canvases, fresco decorations) for Silesian patrons, but also willingly settled down in this region (i.a. Esechiel Paritius, Daniel Datschitzky, Jeremias Joseph Knechtel, Johann Franz Hoffmann, Ignaz Depée) or lived there temporarily (i.a. Johann Hiebel, Johann Kuben, Peter Brandl, Wenzel Lorenz Reiner, Ignaz Preissler). Many of them achieved artistic and economic success in this region. Silesia was such a good place to work for newcomers from Bohemia in that time, because as Catholics they were supported by the Catholic Church, the imperial authorities and pro-Habsburg nobility and hadaccess to various painting commissions for Catholic principals, which accounted for the dominant share of the Silesian painting market. The extreme confessionalisation of social life in this region allowed them for a rapid social advancement. This period of “Silesian El Dorado” ended for Bohemian artists with the outbreak of Silesian Wars (1740–1763).