Prince Franz I von Liechtenstein
1853–1938
Hermann Clemens Kosel (1867–1945), Portrait of Prince Franz I von Liechtenstein (1853–1938)
Predecessor
Prince Johann II von Liechtenstein
Prince Franz I von Liechtenstein served as Austro-Hungarian ambassador in St Petersburg from 1894 to 1898. He received numerous distinctions for his many academic initiatives. On 30 March 1938, not long before his death, he handed over the affairs of government to his great-nephew Franz Josef II von und zu Liechtenstein.
The younger son of Prince Alois II (1796–1858) and his wife Franziska, Franz I was born at Schloss Liechtenstein near Mödling on 28 August 1853. He married Baroness Elsa Erös von Bethlenfalva, née von Gutmann (1875–1947) on 22 July 1929. The couple remained childless. Following the death of his brother, Prince Johann II (1840–1929), who also died without issue, he assumed the regency over the House of Liechtenstein in 1929. On 25 July 1938 Franz died at Schloss Feldsberg (Valtice), to which he had retreated together with his wife, who was of Jewish descent, after the invasion of Austria by the National Socialists. He had transferred the regency to his successor Prince Franz Josef II (1906–1989) on 30 March.
DIPLOMACY AND SERVICES TO HISTORICAL RESEARCH
For a long time Franz I stood in the shadow of his brother Prince Johann II, assisting him in the administration of his estates and often representing him. His character was shaped by his legal training and early entrance into the diplomatic service.
From 1894 to 1898 he was Imperial-Royal ambassador in St Petersburg, where he sought to improve relations between Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.
The purchase of the extensive library of the Russian historian Wassili Bilbassow formed the basis for the chair and seminar in Eastern European History established at the University of Vienna in 1907.
However, it was not in the field of politics that Franz I’s ambassadorial activities had the greatest success but in that of historical sciences. He spent large sums of money on historical publications. He succeeded in gaining access to Russian archives for Austrian historians, in the conviction that learning about Russia’s history was the key to better understanding of the country and to improving relations between the two states.
The purchase of the extensive library of the Russian historian Wassili Bilbassow (1837–1904) formed the basis for the chair and seminar in Eastern European History established at the University of Vienna in 1907, which he also continued to fund. His interest in art and culture is further attested to by his work for the Imperial-Royal Central Commission for the Protection of Monuments, of which he was president from 1911.
WORKS FROM THE GUTMANN COLLECTION
In 1932 Franz I acquired the Kalwang estate in Styria from his wife’s family. This purchase was also significant in terms of his collecting activity, as a large number of artworks came with the estate, some of which are still held in the Princely Collections. These pictures attest not only to the standing of the Gutmann family as bankers and benefactors – in Kalwang they founded the hospital that continues to exist to this day – but also as collectors of art.
The purchase of the Kalwang estate brought with it a large number of artworks, some of which are still held in the Princely Collections today.
During his brief reign, Franz I was thus able to introduce a number of important artworks, principally paintings, into the Princely Collections. Among these mention should be made of “St Eustace”, a small panel attributed to Hans Hoffmann (c. 1530–1592) that draws on Albrecht Dürer’s (1471–1528) engraving of 1501/02 and is an excellent example of the renewed influence of Dürer towards the end of the sixteenth century.
Another treasure acquired with the Kalwang estate was a crossbow decorated with precious ivory carvings. Even the cranequin for spanning the bowstring with its iron rack and pinion has survived. Rather than taking their themes from the hunt as might be expected, the scenes carved in ivory focus on the subject of feminine wiles with reference to the Old Testament and antiquity.
Another important work introduced into the Collections by Franz I is the “Interior of the Oude Kerk in Delft” by Hendrick Cornelisz. van Vliet (1611–1675), acquired with the Kalwang estate in 1932 and an example of the exquisite quality of Dutch interior views from the middle of the seventeenth century.
Also of superb quality are the animal paintings and still lifes by Jan van Kessel (1626–1679) painted on small copper panels. Carefully restored in 2011, they number among the jewels of the Princely Collections.
RECORDS OF A PASSION – HUNTING AND PHOTOGRAPHY
The objects mentioned here attest to Franz I’s passion for hunting and how he cherished the legacy of all the estates where this passion could be indulged.
Like his predecessor Johann II, the prince was open to photography – then the newest of all the technological arts.
He liked having photographs taken of himself while out shooting, showing him together with the game he had bagged in the extensive tracts of river meadows and forests around the confluence of the rivers Morava and Thaya. His ancestors Prince Alois I (1759–1805) and Prince Johann I (1760–1836) had laid out the extensive landscape gardens that still exist in the wider area around this location.
The era when painters and draughtsmen accompanied princes on their hunts, recording these events in sketches and oil paintings, had come to an end. Like his predecessor Johann II, the prince was open to photography – then the newest of all the technological arts.
