The Kynžvart Daguerreotype () or Still Life with Jupiter Tonans is an early

daguerreotype Daguerreotype was the first publicly available photography, photographic process, widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre and introduced worldwid ...

made in 1839 by

Louis Daguerre Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre ( ; ; 18 November 1787 – 10 July 1851) was a France, French scientist, artist and photographer, recognized for his invention of the eponymous daguerreotype process of photography. He became known as one of th ...

. It was inscribed in the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Memory of the World Register UNESCO's Memory of the World (MoW) Programme is an international initiative to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, decay over time and climatic conditions, as well as deliberate destruction. It ca ...

in 2017, where it was described as a "highly important document of a new type of visual information carrier". It has also been a Czech national cultural monument, registration number 305, since 2006. The image depicts several classical statues against a draped background. The most prominent statue is a

Jupiter Tonans Jupiter Tonans (, ) was the aspect (''numen'') of Jupiter (mythology), Jupiter venerated in the Temple of Jupiter Tonans, which Augustus vowed in 26 BCE and dedicated in 22 BCE on the Capitoline Hill; the Emperor had narrowly escaped being struck ...

('Thundering Jove'). The daguerreotype was gifted to State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire

Klemens von Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ( ; 15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich () or Prince Metternich, was a German statesman and diplomat in the service of the Austrian Empire. ...

before Daguerre revealed his invention to the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

on 19 August 1839. As such it is one of the world's oldest surviving photographic images. The dedication on the paper surrounding the daguerrotype reads: The wording of this dedication (the name excepted) is identical to that of another image that Daguerre send to

Alphonse de Cailleux Alphonse de Cailleux, in full Alexandre Achille Alphonse de Cailleux but numerous variations exist (31 December 1788 – 24 May 1876) was a painter, connoisseur and arts administrator who became director of the Musée du Louvre and all the royal m ...

, director of the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, in the same year. He similarly sent sample daguerreotypes to

Ludwig I of Bavaria Ludwig I or Louis I (; 25 August 1786 – 29 February 1868) was King of Bavaria from 1825 until the German revolutions of 1848–49, 1848 revolutions in the German states. When he was crown prince, he was involved in the Napoleonic Wars. As ki ...

Leopold I of Belgium Leopold I (16 December 1790 – 10 December 1865) was the first king of the Belgians, reigning from 21 July 1831 until his death in 1865. The youngest son of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Leopold took a commission in the Imperial Rus ...

Ferdinand I of Austria Ferdinand I ( 19 April 1793 – 29 June 1875) was Emperor of Austria from March 1835 until his abdication in December 1848. He was also King of Hungary, King of Croatia, Croatia and King of Bohemia, Bohemia (as Ferdinand V), King of Lombardy– ...

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

and

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...

. It is held at the National Technical Museum in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, where it has been on loan from Kynžvart Castle, Metternich's former home, since 1985. It been passed down in the Metternich family until 1945 when it became state property upon the confiscation of Kynžvart Castle. The daguerreotype had been forgotten until it was rediscovered by historian of photography around 1960, according to an interview with his grandson.

References

Black-and-white photographs 1830s photographs 19th-century photography 1839 works 1839 in art National cultural monuments of the Czech Republic {{DEFAULTSORT:Kynžvart Daguerreotype

See also

References