Extreme Unction of the Robber-Knight Chlévec from the St Barbara Chapel in Hradčany

The Society of Patriotic Friends of Arts began meeting its goals in its first year of existence - not only did it open a picture gallery for the public, it also launched its first drawing competition for new artists, a precursor of the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (opened 1800). A 17-year-old Josef Karel Burde participated in the competition, winning first prize in the category of copying a publicly displayed painting in Prague. Burde chose a 1725 wall painting by Václav Vavřinec Reiner hanging in the Chapel of St Barbara in Hradčany. The painting depicts the story of the execution and extreme unction of the robber-knight Chlévec. Burde captured this artwork before its many restorations and alterations, rendering the colourful work in drawn shades of sepia, as was common practice in reproduction at the time.