Lucie Česká
The Journey of a Gallery Owner and a Painting. Mikoláš Lehmann and His European Exhibition Tour with Veraikon by Gabriel Max
Travelling with "sensational paintings" around various European cities became an integral part of many gallerists' business activities. The works with which such international tours were undertaken were preceded by their reputation, and whether they were presented at regular art shows or at solo exhibitions, they were always popular with the public. In the 1870s, Prague gallerist Mikoláš Lehmann also decided to travel internationally with a work that caused a sensation.
Mikoláš Lehmann was one of the gallerists whose businesses became well established in Prague in the last third of the 19th century and whose permanent exhibitions expanded the range of contemporary art production on offer to the local public. During the more than thirty years of its existence, Lehmann's salon was filled with works by Czech as well as foreign artists, most notably painter Gabriel Max, who created the work which Mikoláš Lehmann decided to take on his first trip abroad. Gabriel Max painted the painting St. Veronica's Veil in 1874. When it was shown in the Lehmann gallery, the painting showing Jesus Christ's head on a veil of St. Veronica caused great sensation among visitors and much discussion among the professional public and art critics. Lehmann decided to take advantage of the response and toured abroad with the painting, the first stop being London in 1875, where it was presented to the public as part of the regular spring exhibition at the French Gallery. In the context of Lehmann's business strategies, his first trip abroad became very important - it helped the gallerist become acquainted with the foreign environment, build important contacts and learn about the practices used by entrepreneurs whose galleries had an established tradition.
Keywords: Nicolas Lehmann - sensational paintings - European tours of paintings - Gabriel Max - gallery operation - London
design by Bedřich Vémola
