Franz Christoph Janneck’s paintings

Franz Christoph Janneck’s paintings 'The Adoration of the Magi' and 'The Adoration of the Shepherds' will introduce the visitors to the atmosphere of the exhibition Treasures of the Baroque. Between Bratislava and Krakow, to be held in the Main Building of the NMK from 10 February to 23 April 2017.

The exhibition will show how the Baroque – this unique art trend, full of splendour and mysticism – developed in this part of Europe. On display will be 160 works from four countries on both sides of the Carpathians. Thanks to the cooperation between the NMK and the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava the Polish public will have an opportunity to see priceless paintings and sculptures from Slovak collections for the first time. The exhibition will be complemented with pieces from Hungary, Ukraine and – of course – Poland. We will show works by the most famous exponents of this style in this part of Europe like Johann Kupezky and Franz Xaver Messerschmidt. The exhibition will also feature Baroque curiosities such as post-mortem portraits and still lifes painted with photographic precision.

Franz Christoph Janneck (1703-1761) – an Austrian painter originally from Graz. It was in this city that he received his artistic training, in the atelier of Matthias Vangus, and later he studied at the Vienna Academy, directed by Jacob van Schuppen. Active in Vienna from the 1730s, Janneck is believed to have been one of the greatest – apart from Johann Georg Platzer (1704–1781) – Austrian Baroque painters. The range of his oeuvre was relatively wide. He created cabinet paintings as well a painted landscapes and miniature genre scenes inspired by French art. Religious pictures were a rarity. His works represent a specific synthesis of not only local and Italianising elements, but also the Netherlandish and French ones. The artist’s paintings can be found both in the Austrian collections and the collections in the neighbouring countries, including Poland and present-day Ukraine.


The Adoration of the Magi
Hard, bright and supernatural light getting through the entrance to the grotto where the Holy Family have found shelter has been used by the painter probably to emphasise the special character of this scene. The Holy Family can be seen under the rocks on the right, and the Three Wise Men from the East are approaching from the left, the silhouette of one of them is emerging against the background on the grotto’s entrance. Mary, sitting on the right, is holding in her arms the Infant, also emanating unusual radiance.

The Adoration of the Shepherds
The same grotto is being entered by the shepherds who want to bow before the newborn Infant. Some of them, with their gifts, are standing around the Holy Family, one has just taken a heavy basket off the back of a donkey, held by a small boy on the right. The rest of the shepherds can be seen against the background of the entrance. In this work Mary is depicted under the rocks on the left. She is holding the baby Jesus who is also emanating unusual radiance.

Both pictures were painted on small boards, in bright colours, characteristic of Rococo painting, with light, fluid brushstrokes, at the same time paying attention to detail, with shiny, smooth surface.
They were exhibited in the Gallery of European Painting in the Princes Czartoryski Museum for a while. From 10 February 2017 they will be shown at the exhibition Treasures of the Baroque. Between Bratislava and Krakow.