Wilhelm von Kaulbach,The Naval Battle of Salamis (study), c. 1860

The Municipal Museum and Gallery in Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad) houses a study for the monumental work The Naval Battle of Salamis by Wilhelm von Kaulbach, a leading painter of German Historicism and director of the Munich Academy. The final painting, nearly 10 meters wide, was created for the new Maximilianeum building in Munich, commissioned by King Maximilian II of Bavaria. He completed the commission in 1864 after working on it for several years. He prepared it with a series of drawings and studies, some of which have survived to this day. The one from Mariánské Lázně measures an impressive two meters in height. It depicts a scene featuring the family of King Xerxes on one of the sinking Persian ships. The figures correspond to those in the final original, though the painting is executed using the grisaille technique. The study was owned by a local physician, Theodor Olbert, who had been coming here as a seasonal doctor since 1908. His younger brother, Siegmund, had been practicing in Kynžvart Spa since 1906. Both were art lovers. After 1918, Theodor Olbert moved to Mariánské Lázně permanently, and one of his famous patients was the Russian writer Maxim Gorky. In 1951, he left for Germany and transferred the painting to the city’s custody. It long adorned the town hall, but was recently transferred to the collections of the Municipal Museum and Gallery. It will now be exhibited in a gallery setting for the first tim

Wilhelm von Kaulbach,The Naval Battle of Salamis (study), c. 1860 -