"Pour décrire les grandes actions" : mytologické obrazy hraběcí rodiny Serényiů jako výraz reprezentace

The article discusses the mythological paintings in the chateaux in Lysice and Milotice. The first collection depicts stories from Ovid's Metamorphoses and the second one portrays allegories of the four elements. The compositions for the Ovid cycle were taken from the 1677 edition of Metamorphoses, and they seem to have been commissioned by Anton Amatus Serényi, which is confirmed by their probable location in the principal family residence in Lomnice. The model for the allegories of the elements consisted of engraved copies of French tapestries, commissioned by Louis XIV for Versailles. The basic idea behind the design of self-presentation of the ruler is preserved, although on a level emphasising representation of the dynasty. This is underlined by the presence of identification portraits of female members of the family, who are identified with various goddesses in the paintings. The works, probably commissioned by Karl Anton Serényi, seem to have originally been located in the chateau in Milotice. Both cycles are further examples of the influence of works with a French orientation, which became increasingly widespread in Central Europe from the 1660s onwards.