Abstract
Humprecht Jan Černín was appointed imperial envoy to the Republic of Venice in 1660-1663. Based on diplomatic correspondence, diplomatic relations, and other sources, the author examines the circumstances of the envoy's appointment and reception by the Venetian authorities and his political and cultural activities at the time of the mission, as well as the beginnings of Czernín's picture gallery, the foundations of which were laid by paintings commissioned and purchased at that time.