Johann Adam Andreas I of Liechtenstein and Vienna around 1700
»In the person of Johann Adam Andreas I of Liechtenstein, entrepreneurial thinking and the baroque joy of the fine arts were united. It is a particular concern of our family to make this unique symbiosis accessible to the public in the Vienna Garden Palace he built,” emphasizes Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein. »The special exhibition HERCULES OF THE ARTS primarily shows masterpieces from Johann Adam Andreas’ art collection, which can also be discovered via the digital offerings of the Princely Collections.«
Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein
Vienna (OTS) – Johann Adam Andreas I of Liechtenstein (1657–1712) was not only an outstanding personality of the Princely House of Liechtenstein, but as a passionate art collector he was among the most important patrons of his time. With the two magnificent buildings, the garden palace in Rossau and the city palace near the Hofburg, he had impressive monuments built and, as an ambitious builder, pushed forward the development of a new district, the Lichtental, which still exists today.
»In the person of Johann Adam Andreas I of Liechtenstein, entrepreneurial thinking and the baroque joy of the fine arts were united. It is a particular concern of our family to make this unique symbiosis accessible to the public in the Vienna Garden Palace he built,” emphasizes Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein. »The special exhibition HERCULES OF THE ARTS primarily shows masterpieces from Johann Adam Andreas’ art collection, which can also be discovered via the digital offerings of the Princely Collections.«
The director of the princely collections, Dr. Stephan Koja sees him as a decisive personality: »Looking back through history, Prince Johann Adam Andreas proves to be one of the central figures of the House of Liechtenstein – in political and economic terms, but especially as one of the most generous patrons of the arts. What fascinates about him is his high standards, his unconditional desire for excellence – so he had two of the most grandiose baroque palaces built in Vienna and brought the architects and artists specifically from Italy. And he not only buys works of art of the highest quality across Europe on a large scale, but also develops his own connoisseurship, following his personal passion.
He also opened the Liechtenstein Gallery to art lovers for the first time – and thus ensured that the art collections achieved legendary status and continue to attract visitors from all over the world to this day.
Reigning Prince of Liechtenstein from 1684, Johann Adam Andreas reorganized the administration of his domains. With the purchases of the Imperial Empire of Schellenberg and the Imperial County of Vaduz, he laid the foundation for the future Imperial Principality of Liechtenstein. His economic success created the conditions for extensive building projects – especially in Vienna – and the expansion of his extraordinary art collections. With around 170 works of different genres, the special exhibition not only highlights the prince’s achievements and most important building projects, but also his passion for collecting, the focus of which, in addition to Italian art, was on Flemish painting.
The passion of collecting
Johann Adam Andreas made important purchases such as the important Decius Mus cycle by Peter Paul Rubens, paintings by Anthonis van Dyck and Marcantonio Franceschini and bronze sculptures by the Florentine court artist Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi.
In one room of the Garden Palace, visitors to the special exhibition can see the abundance of princely collecting in a dense display. The intimate atmosphere of the Historical Library invites you to discover engravings, plans, maps and valuable early porcelain from the Viennese manufactory Du Paquier.
The garden palace as a total work of art
Numerous building projects testify to the prince’s interest in representation appropriate to his status, as the Viennese palaces on Bankgasse and Rossau impressively demonstrate. This claim, which the prince pursued in the tradition of his father, Prince Karl Eusebius I of Liechtenstein (1611–1684), is evident both in his collecting activities and in the building projects he carried out. The exhibition presents works of art acquired by Johann Adam Andreas and focuses on the buildings built under him and their furnishings.
The garden palace plays a special role because it is not only an exhibition site, but also a work of art that makes the prince’s vision accessible and tangible. Engravings by Salomon Kleiner document the original layout of the palace, garden and outbuildings and resurrect structures that are now lost. For example, the Belvedere built by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, which once closed off the park of the Garden Palace to the north and was replaced in the second half of the 19th century by the new building by Heinrich von Ferstel on today’s Alserbachstrasse.
ITALIANITY
Around 1700, artists from Italy were courted by noble builders and collectors in Vienna. There was traditionally a large Italian community through dynastic relationships and service in the imperial court. It had its greatest influence in the 17th and 18th centuries and spread through all levels of society. Italian culture, “Italianità,” flourished. It shaped the cityscape and was also reflected in Johann Adam Andreas’ understanding of art.
The garden palace in particular shows the orientation towards Italian models in form and facade design, which continues in the interior: The prince’s preference for Italian art was revealed in the commissioning of painters, architects, sculptors and plasterers from Italy, including Domenico Martinelli, Giovanni Giuliani, Santino Bussi and Antonio Bellucci.
A highlight of the garden palace’s furnishings is Andrea Pozzo’s ceiling fresco in the ballroom, which impressively conveys the prince’s allegorical self-portrayal as the new Hercules. The illusionistic painting – a pseudo-architecture striving towards the sky – still amazes us today when we see the deeds of the ancient hero. As part of the special exhibition, free short lectures about this masterpiece of secular ceiling painting are offered.
The paintings with mythological depictions by Marcantonio Franceschini were part of the original decoration of the Garden Palace, where some of them are presented together in one room for the duration of the exhibition and develop their effect through their impressive size and color intensity. Bronzes by Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi, a court artist of Cosimo III. de’Medici, who can also be seen in the exhibition, brought ancient ideas and international splendor to Vienna.
Special exhibition
HERCULES OF THE ARTS
Johann Adam Andreas I of Liechtenstein and Vienna around 1700
(February 16 to April 1, 2024)
Liechtenstein Garden Palace, Fürstengasse 1, 1090 Vienna
Daily between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., admission free
More information about HERCULES OF THE ARTS and guided tours:
www.liechtensteincollections.at
www.palaisliechtenstein.com
Questions & Contact:
versatile ||| communication, Valerie Besl
m: +43 664 833 9266, valerie.besl@vielseitig.co.at
www.vielseitig.co.at