110820

Dr Theodor Kohn, Archbishop of Olmütz 1902

Standing full-length to the right, head turned full face to the viewer, wearing an ermine cape over crimson robes, a long chain with a cross round his neck and held in his right hand, his left hand resting on a bible placed on a marble-gilt side table with the bishop’s insignia of a mitre, crosier, crown and pallium [girdle], a high-backed throne upholstered with red damask behind him to the left and a drape of red fabric hanging behind

^[1]Oil on canvas, 350 x 192 cm (137 ⅘ x 75 ⅗ in.)

Inscribed lower right: László F.E. Vienne

Inscribed upper left: Theodorus Princeps Archiepiscopus Olmucensis MDCCCCII

Sitters’ Book I, f. 48: + Theodorus / Princeps Archiepiscopus / Olumuciensis / Olumucii die 17. Novembris / 1900-

Arcibiskupský zámek v Kroměříži, Sněmovní sál, Arcidiecéze olomoucká (Archiepiscopal castle Kroměříž, Assembly Hall, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olomouc)

AO-AMK, inv.č KE 1998, O 241

In March 1900 de László’s career reached new heights as he was commissioned to paint 90-year-old Pope Leo XIII [4509] and his Papal Secretary of State Cardinal Rampolla [4511] at the Vatican in Rome. Both portraits were widely exhibited to great acclaim and cemented the artist’s international reputation. These portraits may have been seen by Count Eduard Pettenegg (1847-1918), Privy Counsellor to Emperor Franz Joseph [12700], on one of his frequent visits to Rome.^[2] He advised Kohn on artistic matters and in April 1900 wrote to Dr Theodor Kohn, Archbishop of Olmütz, recommending the artist for the commission to paint his portrait.^[3]

The life-sized portrait of Archbishop Kohn is one of the largest canvases of the artist’s career and was intended for the newly restored rococo throne room of Kremsier Castle, one of the most important Baroque palaces and gardens in Europe. The size and composition is identical to the portrait of Kohn’s predecessor Archbishop Fürstenberg by Franz Schrotzberg (1811-1889), painted for the room in 1859. Kohn’s portrait took the place of that of Archbishop Maximilian von Hamilton (1714-1776), which was moved during the restoration of the Castle. Friedrich Egon Fürstenberg (1813-1892) was a distant relative of Max Egon II Fürstenberg who was painted by de László in 1899 [3360].  

The artist travelled to Olmütz in November 1900 to make preparatory studies for this portrait, of which three are known: a half-length in oil [13542], an oil study of the full composition [112500] and a sheet of preparatory drawings [111962] depicting the Archbishop’s regalia with notes detailing their colour and design. A letter from the Archbishop’s Majordomo Dr Carl Sulák shows that the artist was permitted to take some of the garments with him to Budapest, provided they were returned to Olmütz for Christmas.^[4]  Sulák also signed the artist’s Sitters’ Book and was the primary correspondent with him throughout the commission.

De László’s commitments meant that his work on the present picture was protracted and took nearly eighteen months to complete. The artist wrote to Sulák in January 1901 that he was too busy to see the Archbishop before March as he was painting Hereditary Princess Emanuel zu Salm-Salm, née Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria [5095].^[5] Pesti Hírlap reported in April 1901 that Kohn stayed with the Franciscan Friars in Budapest and sat for de László several times at his studio villa in Pálma utca., near the City Park.^[6] The painting can be seen there at an early stage of conception in a photograph of the artist standing in front of the enormous canvas with the preparatory half-length  [13542] shown leaning against the canvas, reflected in the large studio mirror. These studies were used by the artist for important compositions where the sitter was unable to give extended periods of time for sittings as with the later example of the German Emperor Wilhelm II, whose full-length portrait was painted between 1909 and 1911 [4952].

The Hungarian press reported that the picture was seen in Budapest in April 1901 by the Austrian Archduchesses Gisela and Marie Valerie when they visited de László’s studio to see progress on the posthumous painting of their mother Empress Elisabeth [110806].^[7] They spent an hour with the artist and saw other recently painted portraits of Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen [12059], sister of the German Emperor, and the Hungarian hero of the 1848 Revolution General Artúr Görgei [7110]. The large canvases of Kohn and the Empress were then moved to the artist’s studio at the Nestroyhof : “In Vienna I shall paint…the Archbishop of Olmütz, and the large picture of our late Queen … I look forward to being in Vienna, where I can devote myself entirely to my work.”^[8]

The artist tried to arrange further sittings with the Archbishop in Olmütz in May 1901 but these do not seem to have taken place.^[9] On 30 May 1901 Sulák wrote: “The Archbishop has very high opinion of you and asks you to take as much time as you need to finish painting although the hall at Kremsier is already restored; archbishop is doing visitations until 21 July and can’t come to Budapest; but would like to invite you and your wife to Skalicka after 21 July; otherwise archbishop would come to Vienna in October or November.”^[10] It was no doubt hoped that the portrait would be completed by August 1901, when a large Catholic conference took place at Olmütz.^[11]

The portrait was still not complete in early 1902 and Sulák wrote to the artist on 28 February: “His princely Grace kindly thanks you for the message and he does in no way wish to rush you, dear Sir, as the very same is aware that a Master, as his Grace values you, needs time. It is not about the sitter but the artist! Will you then write to his princely Grace a few lines about when he shall come to Vienna and his Grace will be very pleased to see you again, dear Sir, if you do not wish to come to Olmütz or Kremsier. But in May of this year his reverend Grace will be gladly seeing you and your wife in Kremsier and hopefully you will be reminiscing about Olmütz or Kremsier or Hochwald or Skalicka at a later stage, where you gather strength for new creations.”^[12]

Work continued on the portrait in March and April 1902. The Archbishop’s regalia, specifically the girdle and pallium, were sent to the Hotel Imperial in Vienna, where the artist was staying.^[13] It is not known if the Archbishop sat again in person.

Lucy de László, the artist’s wife, notes the portrait’s completion in her diary 15 June 1902: “This morning, long before I got up, a wire came from him to say ‘Mit Gottes Hilfe Bishop vollended Gruss Fülöp’ [With God’s help Bishop completed Regards Fülöp] – He has been working hard at it this last fortnight or 3 weeks, and off and on all winter. Es ist roth in roth [It is red on red] am longing to see it finished. I was del[ighted] with it when last in Wien [Vienna].”^[14] The couple were invited by the archbishop to Kremsier for the unveiling of the portrait on 20 June 1902, which coincided with the 10-year anniversary of Kohn’s appointment as Archbishop of Olmütz. A local Moravian paper reported that the Archbishop asserted more dignity and authority in the picture than in real life.^[15]

A photograph in the artist’s archive dated 1902 shows Lucy and the Archbishop in the gardens of Olmütz and highlights the friendly relationship that developed between sitter and artist.^[16]

The ledgers of Archbishop Kohn in the archive at Olmütz show that de László was paid 50,000 crowns for the portrait, the equivalent of some £341,000 in 2022. This was more than double the honorarium of £156,900 he received for two large group portraits of the Gramont family [112088][112087] that he was painting during the same period. It was also half the sum for the entire restoration project of the throne room.^[17]

Theodor Kohn was born on 22 March 1845 in Březnice, a small town in southwestern Moravia. Although his parents were Catholic, his grandparents Jacob (born 1798) and née Rosalia Braun (born 1800) were Jewish and had converted to Catholicism in 1826. Kohn was an accomplished student and fluent in Czech and German. He was ordained in 1871 and received his doctorate in theology in 1875. From 1874 he worked as a secretary and second ceremonial to the Archbishop of Olmütz, Friedrich Egon Fürstenberg (1813-1892). Over the next few years, Fürstenberg, whose health was deteriorating, entrusted him with additional tasks. In addition, Theodor Kohn held the office of extraordinary professor at the theological faculty of the University of Olmütz.

After the death of Archbishop Fürstenberg, Kohn was elected as his successor by the Olmütz Cathedral Chapter on 7 December 1892. Pope Leo XIII confirmed the election on 10 January 1893. The See of Olmütz was the richest in Christendom with an income of £80,000 a year.^[18] The Archbishop ranked as a Prince Duke and possessed his own mint, court and bodyguard and his estates covered 234 square miles: “When he attended a meeting of the Moravian Estates, all other members of the Estates, including Princes and Dukes, walked on foot in procession before his carriage from his residence to the Landhaus [municipal court]."^[19]

Kohn’s appointment was controversial as he was the first Archbishop of Olmütz since 1566 who did not come from the nobility. This was initially welcomed by the people, particularly the Czech, but Kohn faced confrontation throughout his office owing to his Jewish name as well as his sometimes-despotic style of leadership. As time passed, his loyalty to the Czech nation was called into question and several legal disputes overshadowed his career.

Kohn’s ten-year anniversary was celebrated by his secretary with a special jubilee volume and this portrait was reproduced in heliogravure by Blechinger und Leykauf of Vienna. Kohn resigned his office on 10 June 1904 at the request of Pope Pius X. He purchased Castle Ehrenhausen in Styria, Austria, where he spent the rest of his life, dying there on 3 December 1915.  

LITERATURE:

•Neue Freie Presse, 9 November 1892, p. 5

•”Főheregnők a műteremben” [Archduchesses in the Studio], Hazánk 24 April 1901, p. 8  

•Magyar Nemzet, 15 January 1902, p. 8  

•Neue Freie Presse, 14 June 1902, p. 6

•“Ein neues Bildnis des Fürsterzbischofs Dr Kohn“ [A New Portrait of Archbishop Dr Kohn], Märisches Tagblatt, 14 June 1902, p. 8  

•Magyar Nemzet, 15 June 1902, p. 12

•Pester Lloyd, 21 June 1902, p. 2

•Znaimer Tagblatt, Nr. 258, 10 November 1902

•Botek, Franz and A. Kleiber, Facta Loquuntur ou dix années d’activité épiscopale [Facta Loquuntur at ten years of archiepiscopal office], Paris, 1902, ill. Frontispiece

•“Kremsier“, Deutsches Nordmährerblatt, 15 May 1910, pp. 1-4  

•Botek, Franz, Der resignierte Fürsterzbischof von Olmütz, Dr. Theodor Kohn, Grundlinien, Beiträge und Materialiensammlung zur vorurteilsfreien, sachgemäßen Beurteilung seiner bischöflichen Amtstätigkeit [The resigned Prince-Archbishop of Olmütz, Dr Theodor Kohn, foundations, contributions and collection of materials for a non-judgemental, appropriate assessment of his archiepiscopal office], St. Josefs-Verein Buchdruck, Klagenfurt, 1913

•Kohn, Theodor, Lebens-Denkwürdigkeiten [Life-Memories], Styria, Graz, 1921

•Miller, Michael L.,"The Rise and Fall of Archbishop Kohn: Czechs, Germans and Jews in Turn-of-the-Century Moravia", Slavic Review, Volume 63, Number 3, 2006

•Miláčková, M ed., Arcibiskup Theodor Kohn (1893–1904). Neklidný osud talentovaného muže [Archbishop Theodor Kohn. The restless fate of a talented man], Muzeum umění Olomouc, Olomouc, 2012

•Jonová, Jitka, Restaurátoři ve službách olomouckého arcibiskupa Theodora Kohna (1892-1904) [Renovators in the service of Olomouc Archbishop Theodor Kohn (1892-1904)], 2013

•Field, Katherine ed., transcribed by Susan de Laszlo, The Diaries of Lucy de László Volume I: (1890-1913), de Laszlo Archive Trust, 2019, pp. 59, 61

•DLA068-0163, letter from Kerber to de László, 2 November 1900

•DLA068-0166, letter from Carl Sulák to de László, 9 December 1900

•DLA034-0040, letter from Carl Sulák to de László, 2 January 1901

•DLA068-0061, letter from Carl Sulák to de László, 2 January 1901

•DLA068-0060, letter from Franz Botek to de László, 22 April 1901

•DLA137-0001, Pester Lloyd, 23 April 1901, p. 6

•DLA162-0398, Pesti Hírlap, 24 April 1901, p. 2

•DLA044-0011, letter from Carl Sulák to de László, 30 May 1901

•DLA044-0045, letter from de László to unknown friend, 23 October 1901

•DLA033-0080, letter from Carl Sulák to de László, 3 November 1901

•DLA033-0081, letter from Carl Sulák to de László, 23 November 1901

•DLA033-0079, telegram from Carl Sulák to de László [undated but probably December 1901]

•DLA033-0082, letter from Carl Sulák to de László, 28 February 1902

•DLA033-0088, letter from Carl Sulák to de László, 26 March 1902

•DLA033-0083, letter from Carl Sulák to de László, 1 April 1902  

•DLA033-0086, letter from Carl Sulák to de László, 18 April 1902

•DLA162-0373, Pesti Hírlap, 22 May 1902, p. 9

•DLA070-0098, letter from Carl Sulák to de László, 27 May 1902

•DLA162-0254, Pesti Hírlap, 15 June 1902, p. 6

•DLA090-0089, Pester Lloyd, 19 June 1902

•DLA090-0204, German press cutting, [undated, presumably June 1902]

•DLA033-0084, letter from Carl Sulák to de László, 14 September 1902

•DLA033-0087, letter from Carl Sulák to de László, 15 September 1902

•DLA033-0085, letter from Carl Sulák to de László, 27 October 1902

•Lászlo, Lucy de, 1902-1911 diary, 14 March 1902 entry, p. 24, June entry, p. 30

KK, BS & KF 2022