There are many reasons to visit the Lednice-Valtice area: visitors can admire the cultivated landscape, observe the diverse flora and fauna and enjoy the various artistic treasures. Some of these were present here already 250 years ago. Naturally, these aspects had a lasting influence on the three young men who were born in Valtice: the Bauer brothers Josef (1756–1831), Franz (1758–1840) and Ferdinand (1760–1826). The two younger ones achieved world renown in the field of botanical and zoological illustration and Valtice can be proud of them. It is no exaggeration to say that Franz and Ferdinand Bauer are as important to Valtice as Antonín Dvořák to Nelahozeves, Gustav Mahler to Kaliště or Sigmund Freud to Příbor.
Soon, the brothers began documenting the flora and fauna of their homeland in hundreds of realistic watercolours. Additionally to these high-quality pieces, they artistically contributed to the landscape transformation as well as buildings influencing such as the Monastery of the Merciful Brothers in Valtice. The brothers left their home on the reach of lower Dyje river at an early age. After years of study in Rome, Josef devoted himself to work in Vienna and Franz settled permanently in London after some time in Vienna. Third brother Ferdinand travelled extensively – first to the Ottoman Empire, then spent several years in Oxford and London, and later went around the world with a long stay in Australia. Later, he returned to London, but eventually made his home in Vienna. While Josef became head of the Prince of Liechtenstein’s gallery, Franz and Ferdinand remained illustrators throughout their lives, depicting plants and animals with scientific precision. They were sought-after and well-paid professionals and worked for high-profile clients: Franz for Sir Joseph Banks, long-time president of the Royal Society of London, Ferdinand for John Sibthorp, professor at Oxford University, and Robert Brown of the British Museum in London. Therefore, most of Franz’s and Ferdinand’s works are housed in England except the early watercolours from Valtice, collected in the Liechtenstein Codex in Vienna.
Fascinated by the diversity of all life, Franz and Ferdinand remained faithful to depicting this single theme. While in Valtice they captured sparrows, mole crickets or copulating insects, Ferdinand later documented griffon vulture on Mount Parnassus in these days Greece or koala in Australia. In his later years, Franz also created medical illustrations, depicting ectopic pregnancies and aneurysms of the arteria iliaca externa. While young Bauer brothers depicted African sage, a rarity in the area of Pavlovské vrchy, in later years, Franz painted an enormous number of orchids and other rarities that were grown in the greenhouses of Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew near London. Many of these were previously unknown to scientific knowledge, which is even more true in the context of countless plants that Ferdinand observed and illustrated on his travels. Both brothers saw and drew many things as first in the world. Specifically, Franz’s work on the cell nucleus and organelles was of fundamental importance to biology. Therefore, their works are therefore irreplaceable scientific documents.
However, two of the brothers remained loyal to their country. Ferdinand returned to Valtice as a guest in his old age, although he died in Vienna-Hietzing. Francis died at Kew, but his birthplace is explicitly mentioned in his epitaph in St Anne’s Church. The graphic documentation that Franz and Ferdinand produced during their lifetime is still regarded as one of the finest ever produced. In short, their works will forever represent the gold standard of scientific illustration.
Author of the text: Prof. Dr. Hans-Walter Lack
Lecture Preview: 12 October 2025 | 4:00 PM | Valtice Castle – White Hall
Joseph Anton Bauer (1756–1831); Ferdinand Lukas Bauer (1760–1826); Franz Andreas Bauer (1758–1840)
„LIRÍODENDRON“, from: Hortus Botanicus or Liber regni vegetabilis, plants assembled by Norbert Boccius, Prior of the Monastery of the Brothers of Merci in Feldsberg (Valtice), vol.II, 1777
LIECHTENSTEIN. The Princely Collections, Vaduz–Vienna, Inv.-Nr.: GR 527.2
© LIECHTENSTEIN. The Princely Collections, Vaduz–Vienna