Journal of the History of Collections Advance Access originally published online on August 1, 2006
Journal of the History of Collections 2006 18(2):201-209; doi:10.1093/jhc/fhl018
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
Art collecting of the Central-European aristocracy in the nineteenth century
The case of Count Pálffy
The study is concerned with Count János Pálffy (1829–1908), one of the most important Central European collectors in the nineteenth century. János Pálffy came from an old Hungarian aristocratic family, which had risen in status under the rule of the Habsburgs. In reaction to the changes brought about after the revolution of 1848 by the growth of nationalism and the increasing political power of the bourgeoisie and intelligentsia, Pálffy attempted to revive the aristocratic past of his family. Inspired by Viollet-le-Duc, he had a neo-Gothic castle built at Bojnice; he installed major art collections in his palaces in Paris, Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and in his residences in Král'ová, Bojnice and Pezinok. Pálffy bequeathed the core of his collection of paintings to the National Picture Gallery in Budapest. He also bound his heirs to maintain his residences in Bojnice, Vienna, Budapest and Pezinok as public museums. However, this proved in vain: as a result of protracted inheritance negotiations and essential geopolitical changes following the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, Pálffy's collection was dispersed.
1 Concerning Count János Pálffy, see J. Radisics, ‘Gróf Pálffy János münkincsei’, Magyar Iparmüvészet 13 (1910), pp. 101–27; J. Novák, Bojnice a okolie (Bojnice and District) (Brno, 1922); F. Hodál and D. Menclová, Hrad Bojnice (Bojnice Castle) (Bratislava, 1956); A. Kemény, ‘Ján Pálffy ako zberatel'’ (János Pálffy as a collector), V
tvarn 
ivot, 35, no. 1 (1990), pp. 57–60; A. Kemény, ‘Ján Pálffy ako zberatel'’, Vtvarn ivot, no. 4 (1990), pp. 58–60; H. Horváth, ‘An outline of the fate of a collection’, Ars Decorativa 13 (1993), pp. 227–30, H. Horváth (ed.), Erdödi gr. Pálffy János (1829–1908) gy
jteménye. Die Sammlung des Grafen János Pálffy von Erdöd (1829–1908), Válogátás az Iparmvészeti Múzeum fényképtáraból (Budapest, 1997); K. Male
ková, Zámok Bojnice (Bojnice Castle) (Bojnice, 1999); A. K. 
evík, ‘V bou
ích as
– znovuobjevená marina z bvalé Pálffyho sbírky' (In the storms of time – a rediscovered Marina picture from the former Pálffy collection) Bulletin of the National Gallery in Prague, Bulletin Národní galerie v Praze 7-8 (1997–98), pp. 158–63; I. Ciulisová, ‘Umelecká zbierka grófa Jána Pálffyho a jej aukn rozpredaj vo svetle archívnych prame
ov’ (The art collection of Count János Pálffy and its sale by auction in the light of the archive sources), Galéria. Roenka Slovenskej národnej galérie 2000 (Bratislava, 2000), pp. 139–43; H. Horváth, ‘Gróf Ján Pálfi-posledn majitel’ bojnického zámku’ (Count János Pálffy – the last owner of Bojnice Castle), in K. Maleková (ed.), Pálfiovsk rod-dejiny, osobnosti, stavebné aktivity, mecená
stvo a zbierky, a volume of papers from a symposium held on the occasion of the exhibition The Pálffys at Bojnice (Bojnice, 2000), pp. 46–55; H. Horváth, Gr. Pálffy János mgyjteménye különös tekintettel iparmvészeti kollekciójára (The collection of Count János Pálffy with especial regard to the objects of applied arts), summary (in English) based on the author's Ph.D. thesis, Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Humanities, Art History Ph.D. School (Budapest, 2002); K. Maleková, ‘Ján Frantiek Pálfi-stavitel’ a zberatel’’ (János Frantiek Pálffy – builder and collector), in A. Fundárková and G. Pálffy (eds.), Pálfiovci v novoveku. Vzostup vznamného uhorského l’achtického rodu (Bratislava and Budapest, 2003), pp. 130–47. 2 We use the term ‘historicism’ here in a sense close to ‘Gothic revival’. On the history of the term historicism see G. G. Iggers, ‘Historicism, the history and meaning of the term’, Journal of the History of Ideas, 56, no. 1 (1995), pp. 129–52.
3 Hodál and Menclová, op. cit. (note 1), p. 76. Archive materials concerning the reconstruction of Bojnice castle are included in a special archive collection on the Pálffy Estate at Bojnice (Vel’kostatok Pálffy Bojnice), deposited in the State District Archive in Nitra-tátny oblastn archív in Nitra (Slovak Republic).
4 This derives from the Count's personal diary from 1861 where we learn that he arrived in Carcassonne on 16 February 1861, having travelled by train from Montpellier. This diary is included in the documents from Count János Pálffy deposited in the Slovak National Archive in Bratislava. See A. Buzinkayová (ed.), Gróf Ján Pálffy (1829–1908). Pezinská vetva Pálfiovského rodu (1252) 1260-1908. Inventár (Slovensk národn archív Bratislava, 1982), inv. no. 301.
5 Hodál and Menclová, op. cit. (note 1), p. 106, note 46.
6 E. Panofsky, Tomb Sculpture. Four Lectures on Its Changing Aspects from Ancient Egypt to Bernini, ed. H. W. Janson, ch 1 (London, 1964), pp. 12–6.
7 C. Duncan, Civilizing Rituals inside Public Art Museums (London and New York, 1995), p. 84. It should be added that Pálffy was not alone in his dreamy escape into the past: his effort to achieve the illusion of the resurrection of the feudal Christian past was typical of the mentality of a group of European high aristocrats. In this context may be mentioned Napoleon III and Pierrefonds castle, John Patrick Crichton Stuart, 3rd Marquis of Bute and his Castell Coch, the eccentric King Ludwig II of Bavaria and his Neuschwanstein castle; and the Austrian aristocrat Count Hans Johann Wilczek and Kreuzenstein castle. Pierrefonds in Picardie, Castell Coch in South Wales and Neuschwanstein in the Bavarian Alps and Kreuzenstein in Lower Austria arose in different socio-political and cultural contexts to Bojnice castle, but they had at least one basic feature – the conscious and systematic promotion of the aristocratic cult. This was in spite of the fact that the nineteenth-century owners of these lordships were often more capitalists than landlords. By means of the reconstruction of an ideal medieval castle, situated in the landscape setting of an ancient feudal lordship, they aimed to evoke the illusion of the political power and cultural identity of the high nobility, so that the contemporary reality was confronted with a new, alternative, mythic reality. See C. Brooks, The Gothic Revival (London, 1999), pp. 343–71; J. Mordant Crook (ed.), The Strange Genius of William Burges: Art-architect, 1827–1881, exh. cat., National Museum of Wales and Victoria and Albert Museum (Cardiff and London, 1981), entries by Mary Axon and Virginia Glenn; J. Mordant Crook, William Burges and the High Victorian Dream (London, 1981); M. Aldrich, Gothic Revival (London, 1994), pp. 216, 221; Ch. Fössmeier, ‘William Burges: Künstler des Gothic Revival’, Weltkunst 69 (1999), pp. 886–9; also U. Kultermann, ‘La arquitectura y el poder de la imaginación. Una reevalución del Castillo de Neuschwanstein’, Goya no. 275 (2000), pp. 113–23, especially p. 122, note 15; see also S. Jervis, ‘Ludwig II of Bavaria. His architecture, design and decoration in context’, in Lisa Taylor and Roy Strong (eds.), Designs for the Dream King. The Castles and Palaces of Ludwig II of Bavaria, exh. cat., Victoria and Albert Mueum and Cooper-Hewitt Museum (London and New York, 1978). For the wider historical context see especially the classic work G. Germann, Gothic Revival in Europe and Britain: Sources, Influences and Ideas (London, 1972).
8 The polyptych with the Virgin and Child between Saint James the Greater, Saint Jerome, Saint John the Baptist and Saint Ranieri (Fig. 3), referred to as the Bojnice Altarpiece (Bojnice castle) was purchased by Count Pálffy from the collection of Samuel von Festetics as the work of Andrea Orcagna, on 11 April 1859, via Artaria, Vienna. See Theodor von Frimmel, Lexikon der Wiener Gemäldesammlungen, vol. I (Munich, 1913), pp. 376–7; A. Colasanti and T. Gerevich, ‘I quadri italiani nelle collezioni del Conte Pálffy in Ungheria’, Rassegna d'arte 12, no. 11 (1912), pp. 165–70. It was attributed to Nardo di Cione by Bernard Berenson, Hans-Dietrich Gronau and Klara Steinweg: see R. Offner, A Critical and Historical Corpus of Florentine Painting: The Fourteenth Century, section iv, vol. II, Nardo di Cione (New York, 1960).
9 Budapest, Szépmüvészeti Múzeum, inv. no. 4223; T. Natter (ed.), Gallery Miethke. A Pioneering Art House, exh. cat. Jüdisches Museum Wien (Vienna, 2004), pp. 23–4, 53.
10 Budapest, Szépmüvészeti Múzeum, inv. no. 4329. I. Ember and Z. Urbach (eds.), Museum of Fine Arts Budapest: Old Masters’ Gallery. Summary Catalogue, Early Netherlandish, Dutch and Flemish Paintings, vol. II (Budapest, 2000), p. 35; J. O. Hand, Joos Van Cleve: The Complete Paintings (New Haven and London, 2004), cat. no. 34.1. Concerning Charles Sedelmeyer see as follows: B. Wild, ‘Charles Sedelmeyer: Ein österreichischer Kunsthändler macht Karriere in Paris’, Parnass 14, no. 3 (1994), pp. 76–80; Ch. Huemer, ‘Charles Sedelmeyer (1837–1925). Kunst und Spekulation am Paris Gemäldemarkt’, M.A. thesis (University of Vienna, 2001); Ch. Huemer, ‘Charles Sedelmeyer's theatricality: art and speculation in late 19th century Paris’, in J. Bako (ed.), Artwork through the Market. The Past and the Present (Bratislava, 2004), pp. 109–24.
11 M. Theinhardtová, ‘Charles Sedelmeyer a Václav Broík, esk malí historie v Paíi’ (Charles Sedelmeyer and Václav Broík; a Czech painter of history in Paris), in Václav Broík (1851–1901), Národní galerie v Praze. Valdtejnská jízdárna (Prague, 2003), pp. 111–29.
12 Both portraits are mentioned in the posthumously produced catalogue of paintings, miniatures and drawings found in the collection of Count Pálffy: János Peregriny, Néhai nagyméltóságú erd
di gróf Pálffy János valóságos belsö titkos tanácsos, cs.és kir. kamarás, Pozsony vármegye örökös fispánja, Bajmócz örökos ura és a frendiház örökos jogú tagja pozsonyi palotájába, budapesti palotájaban, bazini kastélyában, bajmóczi várában, királyfai kastélyában, szárazpataki kastélyában, wieni palotájában, alsó-nyárasdi kastélyában található festmények, mimiatureök és grafikai lapok jegyzéke a vonatkozó és becslési adatokkal (Budapest, 1909). On the portrait of Count Pálffy in Bojnice Castle, see pp. 17–8, cat. no. 14; on the portrait in the Vienna palace see p. 29, cat. no. 53. In his monograph devoted to the life and work of Václav Broík, Blaíková-Horová mentions the existence of the Bojnice portrait only from 1891. N. Blaíková-Horová, Václav Broík (1851–1901). Národní galerie v Praze. Valdtejnská jízdárna (Prague, 2003), p. 257, cat. no. 179. Neither of Broík's portraits of Count Pálffy is traceable today.
13 G. Schwartz, ‘Connoisseurship: the penalty of ahistoricism’, Artibus et historiae no. 18 (1988), pp. 201–6.
14 G. von Térey, ‘A gróf Pálffy János által hagyományozott képgyjtemény leiró lajstroma’, in Országos Magyar Szépmvészeti Múzeum kiadványai xxiii (Budapest, 1913); G. von Térey, Katalog der Gemäldegalerie des Grafen Johann Pálffy (Budapest, 1913).
15 Cited according to an extract from the will of János Pálffy dated 14 November 1907. See Archív Pamiatkového úradu (Archive of the Monuments Office), Collection: Pamiatkové orgány na Slovensku (Monuments Authorities in Slovakia). Dodatok (Supplement) 1919-55, inv. no. 807.
16 On the problem of the gentleman as collector and expert see especially F. Haskell, Rediscoveries in Art: Some Aspects of Taste, Fashion and Collecting in England and France (Oxford, 1980); I. Pears, The Discovery of Painting. The Growth of Interest in the Arts in England, 1680–1768 (New Haven and London, 1988); K. Pomian, Collectors and Curiosities: Paris and Venice 1500–1800 (Cambridge, 1990). The libraries of Count Pálffy in Bojnice castle and his palace in Bratislava contained numerous books devoted to art collections and art in general. See xiv. aukce Vchodoslovenského musea, Bibliotheca Pálffyana, Prague 8–10 March 1926, Prague Klementinum, pp. 543–81.
17 Duncan, op. cit. (note 7), p. 26.
18 P. Cabanne, The Great Collectors (London, 1963); Wallace Collection Catalogues. Pictures and Drawings, 16th edn (London, 1968); P. Hughes, The Founders of the Wallace Collection (London, 1981).
19 Apart from the 178 pictures bequeathed by Pálffy to the National Picture Gallery in Budapest and which are still included in the collection of the Budapest Szépmüvészeti Múzeum, we know today of two other integrated collections of art objects, which originally formed part of the Pálffy collection. According to the agreement between the Count's heirs and the Austrian Republic concluded in February 1921, forty-two art objects from the former Pálffy Palace in Vienna became part of the collections of the Museum of Applied Art (Museum für Angewandte Kunst) and the State Gallery in Vienna. See Národní archiv Praha, Ministerstvo kolství 1918–45, pozostalost’ J. Pálffyho, podíl státu, inv. no. 3305). A similar agreement between Pálffy's heirs and the Czechoslovak Republic was concluded on 15 December 1923. See Archív Pamiatkového úradu, fond: Pamiatkové orgány na Slovensku. Dodatok 1919–55, inv. . 807. On the basis of this agreement Pálffy's heirs gave to the Czechoslovak state a further group of art objects originating from the palace in Bratislava and the mansions at Pezinok and Král’ová. The individual art objects are now concentrated mainly in the collections of the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava and the Slovak National Museum in Bratislava. The remaining part of the art collection of Count Pálffy was dispersed on the international art market in the period 1921–6, principally at auctions in Paris (C.P. Desvouges, 14 December 1921, Hôtel Drouot); Vienna (Glückselig and Wärndorfer, 7–10 March 1921, Dorotheum, 21–23 November 1921, Pollak and Winternitz, Glückselig and Wärndorfer, 26–27 May 1924); London (Christie's, 18–19 June 1924, Christie's, 15 July 1924); Piet'any (viii. Auktion des Ostslovakischen Museums, Bad Pistyan, 30 June–1 July 1924); Prague (x. Auktion des Ostslovakischen Museums, Prag, Klementinum, 1–2 December 1924; xiv. Auktion des Ostslovakischen Museums, Prag, Klementinum, 8–10 March 1926). It is probable that no catalogues were published for two further auctions, held in Koice and Karlové Vary.
Address for correspondence Dr Ingrid Ciulisová, Institute of Art History, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 841 09 Bratislava, Slovak Republic. dejuciul{at}savba.sk