Staletá Praha 40, 1/2024, 45-65 | DOI: 10.56112/sp.2024.1.03

Bedřich Petřina – Interwar Prague Collector of Antique Art
Friedrich Petřina – der Prager Altkunstsammler der Zwischenkriegszeit

Ondřej Šindlář

Univerzita Karlova, rektorát, Ovocný trh 3/5, CZ-116 36 Praha 1-Staré Město

The paper traces the hitherto almost unknown private art collection of JUDr. Bedřich Petřina (* 1879 – † 1953) in the interwar period in Czechoslovakia and during the Protectorate. Described is the collection itself, the personality of the collector and the context of the period in which the collection was built up and then lost. The collection is mapped through its fragments and references in art historical literature and its broader cultural and historical context and transformations, especially with regard to the turbulent history of the 1930s and 1940s. Petřina’s primary focus on medieval and early modern art is revealed by analysing a small fragment of the collection, as well as contacts and other collections in his social circles. Petřina’s collecting strategy was shaped by his social ties especially to the Ringhoffer family and their circle, presumably together with his family background and understanding of collecting as part of the social status. The acquisition of works in relation to the roughly outlined network of art dealers is also of interest. Written records reveal the remarkable and ambiguous fate of a Czech German from the sphere of wealthy and prominent Prague residents in the atmosphere of the Protectorate and the post-war settlement. Sometime during these periods the collection, still missing today, was completely lost. The text is intended as a small contribution to the mosaic of the hitherto little-studied practice of small private collections and as a supplement to the picture of socio-cultural changes in collecting at that time.

Keywords: Prague – Bedřich Petřina – Czechoslovak Republic – Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia – collecting – art trade – art collection – collection of antique art – library – ex-libris – Hrzán Palace in the Lesser Town – Ringhoffer family – Hugo Feigl – Josef Opitz – Jaroslav Pešina

Grants and funding:

Tento příspěvek vznikl na základě částečné finanční podpory Grantové agentury UK, č. projektu 355222. Příspěvek používá data, která poskytuje výzkumná infrastruktura LINDAT/CLARIAH-CZ <https://lindat.cz> podporovaná MŠMT České republiky (projekt č. LM2023062).

Published: December 11, 2024