1st evening

Humprecht Jan Czernin and his Grand Tour round southern and western Europe

Humprecht Jan Czernin (1628-1682) undertook his Grand Tour to Italy, France and the

Netherlands at the end of the Thirty Years War, 1645-1648. It was the initiation for his long-

life passion: Italian culture and the visual arts in general. This is clearly reflected in the newly

discovered book of friendship (album amicorum), preserved at The Morgan Library in New

York, that improves our knowledge of this journey. During the lecture, this we will "flip

through" this unique source and also see a detailed itinerary Humprecht Jan´s journey.

Eva Chodějovská (Moravian Library in Brno/Duke University, Durham, USA)

(The lecture will be given in Czech.)

Humprecht Jan Czernin as an Ambassador to Venice (1660-1663) - His Life and His Art

Collection

Humprecht Jan´s vision of his stay in Venice as an imperial ambassador in the end did not

meet neither Emperor´s nor his own expectations. He did not tolerate the climate and

encountered difficulties concerning the ceremonial of the Serenissima. However, the years

in Venice were of particular importance for the development of his magnificent collection of

paintings, which later on was transferred to Prague. To this day, our knowledge of

Humprecht Jan´s collection is based on a unique sketched inventory, named "Imagines

Galeriae", which he commissioned around 1670. During the lecture we will focus on

Humprecht Jan´s activities as a collector.

Roswitha Juffinger (Director Emeritus of the Residenzgalerie in Salzburg, Austria)

(The lecture will be given in English with English translation.)