Bronz statue: Neptun (naked, beard) stands with legs apart a raises his right hand, in his left he holds behind his back a trident with the spikes pointing downwards. By Neptun's legs a barking dog. It is a conspicuously small dog, when compared with Neptune it is no monster, merely a dog which got into a fury and was quickly pacified by his master. It stands with its head threateningly lowered; it tries to be scary, but only at distance, because Neptune's authority does not allow him to leave the place under his feet. Today in front of Sala Terrena stands the fountain with a bronze statue of Venus with Amor. In Wallenstein's time an elaborate fountain with bronze sculptures stood on this site, which was crowned by Neptune and contained today lost components: two seated river gods, two sirens or nymphs situated at the base of the pillar, and on the pillar four dogs, four horse heads, two lion heads and two gryph's heads. Originally Laocoon should be the central figure of the fountain, but at Wallenstein's request it was replaced by Neptun. All statues were made in the Prague studio of Adrien de Vries, former Court Sculptor to Emperor Rudolf II., Fučíková, Čepička 2007#, 443-444 (Eliška Fučíková), and The iconographical type of Neptun's statue, which Adrian de Vries used, was created in 1554-1557 by Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli. It crowned a fountain of Neptune in Messina, which celebrated the Emperor Charles V. Montrosoli's god of the sea followed the "Quos ego" type, created by Raffael and known above all from Marcantonio's print, but with important changes. In the Messina fountain, the Emperor was celebrated as a peacemaker, not as a warrior. Montorsoli's Neptune does not raise his weapon to strike; he holds it as an attribute in his left hand, while his right hand is raised in a way which assimilates ancient god to mortal orator, calming his audience, evident allusion to subsequent verses in Aeneis. In them Vergil compared Neptune to a man who resolutely stands up in the middle of civil riot and calms mutineers by his wise words. Montorsoli's concept of Neptune/orator was further developed in Giambologna's statue of 1563-1566. Neptune is not all threatening or ordering, he raises his right hand to address the audience and the content of his speech is explicitly indicated by the gesture of his left hand. He does not hold the trident next to him as Montorsoli's Neptune does in Messina, but he hides the terrible weapon behind his back. The Prague sculptor went one step further. His Neptune holds his weapon not only behind his back, but also in reverse, with the spikes pointing downwards. The contrast with Rafael's aggressive Neptun, who punishes, which found echo in Bernini's statue of 1620, cannot be greater. Adrian de Vries adapted this type in Neptune's statue for the fountain, which Danish king Christian IV ordered in 1622 (today also in Drottningholm). In Prague, Neptune's enemies are represented by a dog, which is absolutely unique in Neptune's iconography, and stands for the defeated Bohemian estates. In this connection we may recall emblem books, which were popular in Wallenstein's time. In Andrea Alciati's and Theodore de B?ze's collections of emblems, the picture of a dog barking at the moon was interpreted as a symbol of useless action in general and of antagonism which achieves nothing in particular. Ferdinand II was thus celebrated in Wallenstein's garden, because he calmed the local political storm, which threatened the very existence of the Habsburg Empire.
Bronz statue: two naked wreastlers, between them a little shrub with a wreath leaning against its trunk. In Wallenstein's time an elaborate Neptun fountain stood in front of Sala Terrena, which was complemented by four bronze sculptural groups on marble bases which stood between the fountain and Sala Terrena. Laocoon and the Wrestlers were probably standing side by side, the former symbolizing punished impiety and the latter defeated revolt. To the left of the group with Laocoon, in which resistance was condemned, the group with Venus and Adonis could have stood, in which the advantages of forethoughtful submission were celebrated. The group of Venus and Adonis would form a couple with the group of Bacchus and the little Satyr celebrating the blessings of the epoch of peace. The playful fight of Bachus and Satyr would form a contrasting pair with the deadly fight of Wrestlers at the opposite end of the row. All statues were made between 1623 and 1627 in the Prague studio of Adrien de Vries, former Court Sculptor to Emperor Rudolf II., Fučíková, Čepička 2007#, 443-444 (Eliška Fučíková), and Adrian de Vries characterized his statue as Groppa die mideinander ringen (group of those who wrestle with each other). The left wrestler is represented in a deep forward bend; evidently he is trying to pull the right wrestler down to the ground with both his hands. With his left he has grasped his opponent's shoulder and with the other hand his thigh. He is the aggressor; he started the fight, while the right wrestler only resolutely reacts to his action and successfully defends himself. He is represented standing firmly upright with legs apart, but he is not attacking, he holds the hands of the aggressor with both his hands so that he can force them away from his body. The right wrestler is evidently the winner, because in the next moment the aggressor will be lying on the ground. The allegorical content of the "wrestlers" is made clear by a laurel wreath which is represented on the ground, a prize waiting for the victor, who fought with honour. The Wrestlers might be a distant echo of an ancient Roman statue (today in the Uffizi) but most probably they were also an allusion to the defeat of the Bohemian rebels in 1620.
Olej na papíře (36.8 x 28 cm): nahý putto sedí a pouští mýdlové bubliny, opírá se přitom o lebku. Napravo čadící olejová lampička (právě zhasla). and Obraz se velmi těsně drží Goltziovy rytiny z roku 1594, o tématu srov. Exemplum: Homo bulla est.
Kresba perem. Nahá letící postava Merkura, na zádech křídla, v pravé ruce caduceus, v levé páska s nápisem., Neumann 1974#, 195, č. k. 102, obr. 126., Stolárová, Vlnas 2010#, VIII.1, and "Nahý muž prchá před osudem - Fortunou -, která je bouří na moři života a hrozí mu otrockou existencí. Cestu k přístavu mu pomáhá nalézt caduceus, nástroj umění a moudrosti ... křídla, kterými merkurovská postava mává, vyvolávají vzpomínku na Pegase" (Neumann 1974, s. 196).
Erstlich Gednuckt [!] zu Wien bey Georgen Gelbhar vnd jetzt in Prag bey Paul Sesse Im Jahr 1626., ).V témže roce vyšla i vydání bez uvedení místa vydání a tiskaře, viz VD17 14:003254U, VD17 23:246532N a VD17 14:002126E a dvě vydání v Augsburgu (VD17 32:622483G, VD17 12:195431K)., and BCBT41354