Josef Stern (1716–1775)

June 5 – October 4, 2015
Archdiocesan Museum in Kroměříž | Picture Gallery of the Archbishops Palace in Kroměříž

A comprehensive presentation of work by this major Central European painter of altarpieces and frescoes who decorated the interiors of churches and castles in Moravia and Silesia. In his youth, Stern trained in Italy.  After returning to Central Europe he was employed by Count Leopold Ditrichstein and moved his workshop to Brno. It became his home and he died there in 1775. In addition to Brno, where he painted for the churches of St. James, St. John the Baptist, the Capuchin and the Franciscan Orders amongst others, he also worked in Kroměříž for the Bishop of Olomouc, for the Premonstratensians in the Hradisko Monastery near Olomouc, and in Krnov, Silesia, Borotín near Blansko, Dub nad Moravou and other towns and villages.

Although Stern is one of the most important and productive painters in Moravia from the mid-18th century, no solo exhibition that would adequately sum up his artistic legacy has been organized, until now. Our exhibition will present all aspects of his work. Oil sketches, drawings and altarpieces combined with frescos in the Kromeříž Chateau chapel and library will offer a unique opportunity to peek under his paintbrush and approximate the professional life of an important Baroque artist through viewing his authentic works. The exhibition and Sterns story will be completed with sculptural work by Sterns artistic partner, Brno sculptor Ondřej Schweigl. One outcome of the project, in addition to educational activities, will also be a representative catalogue of the works of Josef Stern.

The exhibition is organized by the Olomouc Museum of Art - Archdiocesan Museum in Kroměříž, in cooperation with the Department of the History of Art of the Philosophical Faculty of Masaryk University in Brno and under the auspices of His Excellency Mons. Vojtěch Cikrle, Bishop of Brno.