Viktor Schramm

Mocking laughter echoes through the mosaic-tiled room as the Hungarians lying on the floor and their leader Count Emmerich Thököly of Késmárk (1657-1705), standing in an unbending pose, are mocked by armed Ottomans. Thököly, Prince of Transylvania and Upper Hungary, was an avowed opponent of the Catholic Habsburgs and fought for an independent Hungary. In order to achieve this goal, he entered into a military alliance with the Ottoman Empire. In 1683, he supported the advance of the huge Turkish army on Vienna, including with a contingent of his Kurucs at the Battle of Kahlenberg. Despite his help, he was called to account by the Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa after the defeat - probably also because of his previous negotiations with Emperor Leopold. Thököly then travelled to Adrianople to make amends to the Sultan. But his position began to falter. In 1685/86 and again in 1688/89, he was imprisoned - a deep fall for the once powerful prince. Viktor Schramm was a Romanian painter and illustrator who had studied at the Munich Academy of Art under Franz von Stuck and Karl von Piloty. After initially focussing on history painting, he later created mainly genre pieces.