Partner contributions
The first of the series of exhibitions, workshops and conferences under this motto was launched by the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO) with the exhibition Bellum & Artes. Saxony and Central Europe in the Thirty Years’ War on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Battle of White Mountain in 1620. With some delay owing to the Covid pandemic, it went on display at the Dresden Residenzschloss in 2021. The thematic focus of this exhibition was the role and artistic representation of Saxony in the European context, under Prince-Elector Johann Georg I (r. 1611–1658).
The Instytut Historii Sztuki Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego researched the plight of Silesian art and artists during the Thirty Years’ War, illustrated through a poster exhibition entitled Bellum & Artes. Casus Silesiae at the Muzeum Universytetu Wrocławskiego, which ran from May to October 2023.
The Livrustkammaren/The Swedish Royal Armoury, Stockholm will open an exhibition in the autumn 2024 with the focus to provide a deeper understanding of the Thirty Years' war, the Swedish Baltic Empire and its role in a larger context through a European perspective. In this exhibition, the Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus, the Thirty Years' war, and its impact on the cultural history of Sweden will be addressed.
The Muzeum Umĕní Olomouc examines the purpose of fireworks in that era and will open the exhibition Fire Dramas: Gunpowder, Fireworks and Firework Illuminations in European Art in summer 2024. Another exhibition, focusing on the propaganda of the Catholic Habsburg dynasty during the Thirty Years’ War, will go on show in 2026.
The Carolina Rediviva – Uppsala Universitetsbibliotek has researched for many years, in international cooperation, those parts of its collections seized as spoils of war during Swedish military campaigns in Europe in the 17th century. In 2026, the Library will dedicate an exhibition to the book collection looted in Mainz in 1631/32.
The Muzeum Narodowe w Gdańsku houses a significant collection of prints by the French draughtsman and engraver Jacques Callot, whose works explored extensively the effects of the Thirty Years’ War. His prints will form the core of an exhibition in Gdansk.
The Národní galerie Praha is planning two exhibitions on the Prague school of painting and graphic arts of the first half of the 17th century as part of the overarching project.
The looting of artworks from the unique Gonzaga Collection in 1630 by imperial troops is explored in the Palazzo Ducale di Mantova. A workshop with representatives from European museums and research institutes will examine how museums can shed light on the provenance of artworks looted during the Thirty Years’ War.
Finally, the Schlesisches Museum zu Görlitz and the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid are researching the Silesian painter Bartholomeus Strobel and his monumental painting, the Feast of Herod with the Beheading of St John the Baptist, a key piece from the Thirty Years’ War, which is now part of the Prado collection in Madrid.
