The Hraddany Collection continued to grow during the remaining years of the century until, by the year 1700, the King of Bohemia could boast a vast collection of many hundreds of valuable canvases.
But hardly had the century turned than the first transfers of paintings from Prague to Vienna—the new capital of the Habsburgs—took place.
skoprande ke sa filin ir sekra inkontros kon Prins August, parsir sodene ol shen, e, kongedinde la personeyo, ley kondanir a un strikta riklud in Windsor Park. “Deo Toposa me diu duldo”, el exklamir, kadande ol zunos in un detro d’ajit; dan el resaltir, shendir kurse lo skal, exir nel veo, rufir un кос ki pasir, e kursir ver lo dom de sa matro in Bayswater. El sir skoprat, persekat, e ende, cedande al suados de sa onklos, Duxos de York e Sussex, de Brougham e del Vesko de Salisbury, el bakir a Carlton House a du ma tine. El sir rikludat in Windsor, mo so udir plu nilo dal Prins d’Orango. Prins Augustus diparsir an. Lo veg sir ende apra pol Prins Leopold de Sax-Koburg.
Lytton Strachey.
RESKOPRAT TRESOROS NEL PRAHA KASTEL NUN VIDIBLA
Da na specala korespondent — Praha.
Lo grup del kadros del Arab-Republik-Ambasado identat yopokvekos as opro de Tiepolo sar un segno kan mesme maja artopros par si submirat van zi jar “part dcllandel”. In un expon nun prezentat nel Praha Kastel, ye с qinis exemplos del sam fenomen, plulunos de som granesta artistos.
L’expon sir ordelat ut konadi al Cekoslovaka poplo l’astonifa rizultos del treanya istora studo del Praha Kastel Galerio ke l’lnstitut d’Art-Teorio- e Istor, derkat pe Jaromir Neumann, emprenir les instruos del Restor-Konselyeo del Kastel.
Ye 74 opros exponat, dey somunos maja kadros de tal maestros as Rubens, Tintoretto, Tiziano e Veronese, ki no sinda korekte atribat dun plul seklos. Somunos d’et kadros langir nel skuro del rizervos del Hraddani Kastel, e mesos de dulda stud e restor sir nesa pre za origo pir si diskelat.
Plus kadros del nuna expon, dok, entrar nel sam kategorio de neglat cefopros as los Tiepolo de London. Cir du trimos de zi, fakte, pendir dun anyos nel atryos, skalos, kontoros e galerios del senorda bildo ki domenar l’urbo, kon no plu qam un asta miro dun l’anya inventor.
Al funseros ki dun anyos vivir e laborir in Hraddani, mul d’et kadros certe parir as part del mobleyo. Maja opros de Veronese, Tintoretto e Rubens, po exemplo, sir modeste pendanda ol kastel-muros, erore atribat as “Dal Skol de Bassano”, “Anonima Pinter del 17a seklo” e “Pe un nokonat Artist”. E, gre eto rivelar osa aspektos, sar, lo d’et “egarat cefopros” del Praha Expon ki ilke kolpar l’imagin.
L’istor del Praha Kastel longa e evenplena. It ensir kol Treisanya Guer, van lo Sveda trupos asportir plus kadros e art-objekos ki sir in Hraddany. Van lo guer endir in 1648, Ferdinand III emprenir restori lo kolexos, e, nel samanya vendo Antwerpye del kadros del Dux de Buckingham, no min qam 100 kadros sir kofat po Praha.
Lo Hraddany Kolex kontinuir kreski dul folga anyos del seklo us, ver l’anyo 1700, lo Roy de Boemyo pir vanti un vasta kolex de mul ekos de presya telos.
Mo, apene lo seklo volvir, lo prim transferos de kadros da Praga a Wien — lo nuv cefurbo de los Habsburg — lokedir. Et perioda tranferos, dun
These periodic transfers, during which many hundreds of works were removed from the Prague gallery, continued off and on up to the end of the nineteenth century.
The state of the once-proud Prague Castle collection was now bad enough in all conscience. The picture was further darkened by the numerous errors and blanks that had crept into the inventories in the course of time. Many of the best things had, of cousre, gone to Vienna. Many others had been sold to the Dresden Court and to Munich. But Professor Neumann’s research into the documents and catalogues of the past two centuries has made it abundantly clear that a large number of valuable canvases had in fact remained in Prague, unknown to the authorities.
Scholars may find this faulty cataloguing in Prague lamentable. But it is clear that, had the records been kept more carefully, many of these works would have shared the fate of the bulk of the collection, either under the Habsburgs or a few years later when the nazis occupied Czechoslovakia. Nothing of note was stolen from the Prague Castle collection after about 1860 for the simple reason that no one, either in Prague or elsewhere, thought there was anything left that was worth stealing.
When a detailed survey of the castle’s contents was ordered a few years ago, it was undertaken—at least so far as the paintings were concerned— more with the idea of listing what little was left than with the hope of any important discoveries. Yet discoveries soon began to be made. Professor Neumann and his team of archivists, restorers, and research workers traced the history of these neglected works back through centuries of conflicting catalogue entries. They subjected the canvases themselves to X-ray and ultra-violet photography, they removed overpainting and restored them, analysed paint samples and pondered over compositional patterns.
The result is now bringing the citizens of Prague flocking to the castle to file proudly past a number of fine paintings by great masters, most of which have never been seen in public before. It is a remarkable demonstration that, although the number of Rembrandts languishing forgotten and unrecognized in family lofts is now probably very limited, the same may not necessarily be true of official storage depots. The Prague experience leads one to hope that there may still be treasure-houses of the arts lying neglected and ignored, awaiting the restorer and archivist.
MAUGHAM TAKEN TO HOSPITAL Doctor Anxious Over Lung Congestion
By Reuters
Nice, March 5.—W. Somerset Maugham, 91-year-old British author who is suffering from congestion of the lungs, was taken to the Anglo-American Hospital in Nice today.
Mr. Maugham’s secretary, Alan Searle, travelled with him in the ambulance from his villa at nearby St.-Jean-Cap Ferrat, hospital officials said.
Mr. Searle said earlier today that the author’s condition was “fairly bad, I’m afraid.”
Mr. Maugham’s doctors had said yesterday that they would not move him from his villa to the hospital because of his age and state of helath. This decision was changed this morning, Mr. Searle said.
Quiet Night
Mr. Maugham had spent a quiet night and his condition remained unchanged today, one member of his household said.
Two nurses called in yesterday were at his bedside at the Villa Mauresque throughout the night.
keos mul ekos d’opros sir asportat dal Praha galerio, kontinuir temtempe us l’endo del isnona seklo.
Lo stando del priske fyera Praha Kastel sir dan verdice asay mala. Lo stando sir inotre gravat pel numa eroros e gafos inat nel inventoros korse lo temp. Mul del mela kozos ir gat, nature, Wienve. Mul osas sir vendat al Kort de Dresden e a Munik (Miinchen) Mo lo kiro de Profesor Neumann nel dokumentos e katalogos del last du seklos provir abonde k’un gran num de vala telos fakte restir in Praha, nokonat pel autoritos.4
Som studeros trovor et erora katalogazo de Praha lamentenda. Mo klara ke, es lo listos tenat plu zorge, plul d’et opros ur partat lo suerto del fondo del kolex, au sub los Habsburg au, som anyos doe, van lo nazi’s okupir Cekoslovakio. Nilo vika sir furtat dal Praha-Kastel kolex do с 1860 pol simpla grun ke nilun, in Praha, о osye, pensir ye restir somo furt-vala.
Van un detala inspekto del konten del kastel ordonat yosomanyos, so emprenir — pomine asdus it koncernir kadros — plu kol ideo de listi lo poko ki restir qam kol spero de kel vika skopros. Dok sun so ensir skopri. Profesor Neumann e la eqip d’arkivistos, restoreros, e kireros tracir l’istor d’et neglat opros bake tru seklos de kontredica katalog-indikos. Zi submitir lo telos selfa a X-rados e ultravyola fotografio, zi tulir surpinto e ze restorir, analisir pinto-samplos e riflektir on kompon-tipos.