Wenceslaus asks Rudolf von Habsburg for the Body of his Father King Ottokar Přemysl II
Petter does not show the Battle of Dürnkrut, where the Bohemian King Ottokar Přemysl II (c. 1232–78) was killed, nor the historically documented event of his body being laid out in state at Vienna’s Minorite Church, but a scene that in all likelihood never happened: the moving plea of Ottokar’s son Wenceslaus (1271–1305) for his father’s corpse. It all takes place in front of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the continued building of which had been funded by Ottokar. Rudolf (1218–91), the first Roman-German king from the Habsburg dynasty, has alighted from his horse to help the seven-year-old Wenceslaus kneeling before him to his feet. Rudolf’s left hand points to the coffin he will give Wencelaus to bury his father. Ottokar found his final resting place in Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral in 1297.
1826
Oil on canvas
180.0 x 222.0cm
3723
Image © Belvedere, Vienna, 2024
Where you'll find this
Upper Belvedere
Permanent collection
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Wenceslaus asks Rudolf von Habsburg for the Body of his Father King Ottokar Přemysl II by Anton Petter
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