Alex Kadlec: Saint Hubertus Series

These three paintings are in a series of art done by Czech artist, Alex Kadlec and painted on glass. To first understand the story this series is telling, you have to be familiar with the story of St. Hubertus.

The origin legend of St. Hubertus is that he grew up in an aristocratic family and enjoyed the hunt, but after his wife died giving birth to his son, he retreated into the woods of Ardennes in France. During a Good Friday hunt, he saw a majestic stag in the middle of the woods. The deer had a glowing crucifix between its antlers and in that exact moment a voice spoke to him, asking: “Why do you still hunt and chase wild animals? It’s time to start looking for me, the one who has scarified for you.” So, after this profound experience, Hubtertus turned to religion and gave up his prior comforts. Soon after, his cult following became bigger, and many churches and chapels were dedicated to him in hopes that he will guide them. The most famous of these parishes is the St. Hubertus Chapel located in the Boří les forest between Valtice, Lednice and Břeclav.

This painting titled “St. Hubertus” is on a green background showing St. Hubertus in awe of the stag from his origin story as a golden halo surrounds his head with Janohrad being in the background. Unlike the popular folk retelling, Kadlec portrays St. Hubertus in the district of Moravia having his revelation of God which highlights the importance of the Czech lands in Christianity and to the Czech people in his version. The colors in this painting are incredibly significant as most of the painting is green, red, or white, yet everything that is representing Jesus and God is gold: the horns, the cross, and the halo. Additionally, gold dots are raining down from the top of the painting onto Hubterus, and the Czech lands, which is suggesting that God is raining his blessing and goodwill down onto the Czech Republic.

The middle painting in this series is incredibly different. The title is “Solkolnik – Falcon Handler.” This image shows a woman riding a horse through a field of flowers holding a falcon lovingly while another bird is floating off to the right. Falconry began in the Czech lands in the fifth century with the invasion of the Huns. Orignially it was used by the lower population as a source of food, yet that practice soon became outlawed. However, the art of falconry grew in popularity as entertainment, hunting, and general usage. Once this practice got started, it didn’t stop, with falconry still being a popular hunting and entertainment practice today in the Czech Republic. This piece ties into the prior and is significant in this series as it shows the gleam and glimmer of St. Hubertus looking over hunters and is clearly portrayed in the golden shower raining down on this hunter as she is in the same woods as Hubertus was. This is also shown by the color scheme of the green background and the flowers on the bottom of the painting.

This final piece and portrays Saint Hubertus, the Christian patron saint of hunting, mathematicians, opticians, and metal works, looking fondly over Janohrad as decorative nature motifs surround him. The flowers on the bottom of the painting are gold and red, which are the inverted colors of the middle painting, yet still emphasizes that they are the same woods. The words on this painting set the scene – the cursive under the building in the back right corner states “Janohard” and shows St. Hubertus lovingly looking at it. Janohrad is a castle in the Moravian district of the Czech Republic, specifically near Lednice. Janohrad translates into “John’s Castle” and is known as a romantic ruin. In the late 18th and 19th centuries, this castle was known for its boisterous parties and hunts. This piece suggests that St. Hubertus looks fondly over this castle and watches over it, protecting the castle and its surroundings.

Hilmar, Kytka. “Czech Falconers and Their Timeless Tradition.” Tres Bohemes, November 20, 2017, https://www.tresbohemes.com/2017/11/czech-falconers-and-their-timeless-tradition/.

“Janohrad (John’s Castle).” World Heritage Journeys, https://visitworldheritage.com/en/eu/janohrad-johns-castle/823f1f59-d6f2-4716-886f-ab4a3872fda4.

“Legend of Saint Hubertus.” METELKA, https://metelka.cz/en/history-en/legend-of-saint-hubertus/.