Czech Art
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Czech art is the visual and plastic arts that have been created in the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
and the various states that formed the Czech lands in the preceding centuries. The Czech lands have produced artists that have gained recognition throughout the world, including
Alfons Mucha Alfons Maria Mucha (; 24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), known internationally as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator, and graphic artist. Living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, he was widely known for his distinctly stylized ...
, widely regarded as one of the key exponents of the
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
style, and
František Kupka František Kupka (23 September 1871 – 24 June 1957), also known as ''Frank Kupka'' or ''François Kupka,'' was a Czech painter and graphic artist A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, eit ...
, a pioneer of
abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...
. The Czech lands have produced several important finds of
prehistoric art In the history of art, prehistoric art is all art produced in preliterate, Prehistory, prehistorical cultures beginning somewhere in very late geological history, and generally continuing until that culture either develops writing or other met ...
, notably the
Venus of Dolní Věstonice The Venus of Dolní Věstonice () is a Venus figurine, a ceramic statuette of a nude female figure dated to 31,000–27,000 years ago (Gravettian industry). It was found at the Paleolithic site Dolní Věstonice in the Moravian basin south of ...
, a
pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
Venus figurine A Venus figurine is any Upper Palaeolithic statue portraying a woman, usually carved in the round.Fagan, Brian M., Beck, Charlotte, "Venus Figurines", beliefs '' The Oxford Companion to Archaeology'', 1996, Oxford University Press, pp. 740–7 ...
of a nude female dated to 29,000–25,000 BC, and a distinct style of Celtic art. For most subsequent periods, Czech art was especially close to
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...
and
German art German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, and participated in most phases of this. In periods when
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
was the capital of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, it was a key centre of the current artistic style, using artists of both Czech and foreign origin. This was especially the case for the
International Gothic International Gothic is a period of Gothic art that began in Burgundy, France, and northern Italy in the late 14th and early 15th century. It then spread very widely across Western Europe, hence the name for the period, which was introduced by the ...
style of the 14th century, and the
Northern Mannerism Northern Mannerism is the form of Mannerism found in the visual arts north of the Alps in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Styles largely derived from Italian Mannerism were found in the Netherlands and elsewhere from around the mid-century, es ...
of the late 16th and early 17th. After the
Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...
, when the largely non-Catholic Czech lands were returned to Catholic
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
control, a massive propaganda effort by the church has left rich remains of
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
art and
architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
. From the 19th century,
Czech nationalism Czech nationalism is a form of nationalism which asserts that Czechs are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of Czechs. Modern Czech nationalism arose in the 19th century in the form of the Czech National Revival. In 1848, Czech nationalism ...
had a strong influence on all the arts.


Gothic art

The
Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...
first appeared in the
Czech lands The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands (, ) is a historical-geographical term which denotes the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia out of which Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic and Slovakia, were formed. ...
in the first half of the 13th century and was usual there until the early 16th century. The phases of the development of Gothic art in the Czech lands are often named after the
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
n ruling dynasty of the corresponding time: * Early Gothic – Přemyslid Gothic (13th and early 14th century) * High Gothic –
Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
Gothic (14th and early 15th century) * Late Gothic –
Jagiellonian The Jagiellonian ( ) or Jagellonian dynasty ( ; ; ), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty (), the House of Jagiellon (), or simply the Jagiellons (; ; ), was the name assumed by a cadet branch of the Lithuanian ducal dynasty of Gediminids upon recep ...
Gothic (approximately 1471–1526) The first recognisable period of Czech art is the
International Gothic International Gothic is a period of Gothic art that began in Burgundy, France, and northern Italy in the late 14th and early 15th century. It then spread very widely across Western Europe, hence the name for the period, which was introduced by the ...
period, in which Charles IV had made the
Crown of Bohemia The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were the states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods with feudal obligations to the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of Bohemia, an electorate of the Hol ...
, and Prague in particular, the centre of power of the Holy Roman Empire. Master Theodoricus is one of the first Czech artists that we know by name and is credited with the decoration of the Chapel of the Holy Cross in
Karlštejn Castle Karlštejn Castle (; ) is a castle in the Czech Republic. It is a large Gothic castle founded in 1348 by King Charles IV. The castle served as a place for safekeeping the Imperial Regalia as well as the Bohemian Crown Jewels, holy relics, an ...
. It contains 129 painted panels and is one of the artistic treasures of the medieval period in Bohemia. A collection of busts in
Prague Cathedral The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saints Vitus, Wenceslaus and Adalbert () is a Catholic metropolitan cathedral in Prague, and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. Until 1997, the cathedral was dedicated only to Saint Vitus, and is still commonly ...
dating to 1379–1386 depict the benefactors of the cathedral. One of the busts depicts the artist himself, Petr Parléř the younger (1330–1399) and has been suggested to be the first recognisable self-portrait. The importance of Bohemia at this time has been recognised and was a key centre in the diffusion of the artistic ideas of France and Italy, spread to England through the wife of
Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...
,
Anne of Bohemia Anne of Bohemia (11 May 1366 – 7 June 1394), also known as Anne of Luxembourg, was Queen consort of England, Queen of England as the first wife of King Richard II. A member of the House of Luxembourg, she was the daughter of Charles IV, Holy ...
. Gothic painting as well as much of medieval art is of a religious nature.


Notable Gothic paintings


Early Gothic

* 1325–1349
Velislai biblia picta The Velislaus Bible or Velislav's Bible (; Latin Velislai biblia picta) is an illuminated manuscript of 1325–1349. It is in effect a picture-book of the Bible, as the text is limited to brief titles or descriptions of the 747 pictures from t ...
(Velislav's Bible) illustration on parchment – is the richest pictorial book of the Czech Middle Ages and includes illustrations of the Old Testament, Revelation of Saint John and the legends of the life of St. Wenceslaus and St. Ludmila. However it was not completed.


High Gothic

* 1385–1390 The Madonna of Roudnice is a work by the
Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece __NOTOC__ The Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece () was a Bohemian painter active in Prague around 1380–1390. His name is derived from the Třeboň Altarpiece from the church of Saint Eligius at the Augustinian convent of Třeboň (known in Ger ...
.


Late Gothic

* 1510–1520 Wall painting of
Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...
at
Švihov Castle Švihov Castle (; ) is a Gothic water castle in Švihov in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is ...
.


Baroque

Petr Brandl Petr Brandl (Peter Johannes Brandl or Jan Petr Brandl) (24 October 1668 – 24 September 1735) was a Czech painter of the late Baroque in the bilingual Kingdom of Bohemia. Brandl was the sixth child in a Czech-German family. His father, Michal ...
was one of the most well known painters of his age in Bohemia and an important figure of the late Baroque.


19th century


National Revival

The
National Revival National revival or national awakening is a period of ethnic self-consciousness that often precedes a political movement for national liberation but that can take place at a time when independence is politically unrealistic. In the history of Euro ...
, which had its roots in the last decades of the 18th century, led to a blossoming in the Czech visual arts that reached its apogee in the latter half of the 19th century. The artists of the period contributed to the decoration of the National Theatre, which became a focal point of artistic expression of the nation. One of the artists involved was
Mikoláš Aleš Mikoláš Aleš (18 November 1852 – 10 July 1913) was a Czech painter. Aleš is estimated to have had over 5,000 published pictures; he painted for everything from magazines to playing cards to textbooks. His paintings were not publicized to ...
who decorated the foyer along with
František Ženíšek František Ženíšek (25 May 1849 – 15 November 1916) was a Czech painter. He was part of the "" (Generation of the National Theater), a large group of artists with nationalistic sympathies. Early life Ženíšek was born in Prague into a fa ...
. Aleš is widely regarded within the Czech Republic as one of its greatest artists. Other artists of the national revival included Aleš's colleagues at the
Mánes Union of Fine Arts The Mánes Association of Fine Artists ( or ''S.V.U.''; commonly abbreviated as ''Manes'') was an artists' association and exhibition society founded in 1887 in Prague and named after painter Josef Mánes. The Manes was significant for its in ...
, artists at the
Association of Moravian Artists Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...
such as Antoš Frolka and
Alois Kalvoda Alois Kalvoda (15 May 1875 – 25 June 1934), was a Czech landscape painter. Biography Kalvoda was born in Šlapanice near Brno, the eighth of ten children. He attended the gymnasium in Brno and then studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague ...
, and
Max Švabinský Max Švabinský (17 September 1873 – 10 February 1962) was a Czech painter, draughtsman, graphic artist, and professor in Academy of Graphic Arts in Prague. Švabinský is considered one of the more notable artists in the history of Czech pa ...
.


Fin de Siècle

The most important artist of this period is
Alphonse Mucha Alfons Maria Mucha (; 24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), known internationally as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator, and graphic artist. Living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, he was widely known for his distinctly stylized ...
. The work he is most known for is his commercial art from the 1890s which he created in Paris. However, he considered his masterpiece to be the '' Slav Epic'', a visual exploration of the history of the Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe. The
Mánes Union of Fine Arts The Mánes Association of Fine Artists ( or ''S.V.U.''; commonly abbreviated as ''Manes'') was an artists' association and exhibition society founded in 1887 in Prague and named after painter Josef Mánes. The Manes was significant for its in ...
was an important institution in the last decade of the 19th century and lasted until its suppression by the Communists. It was founded in 1887 in Prague and fostered links between Czech artists with the international arts scene. It would later become associated with the Czech Cubist movement.


20th century

An important event in Czech art was the exhibition of
Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( ; ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His 1893 work ''The Scream'' has become one of Western art's most acclaimed images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dread of inher ...
which took place in Prague in 1905 and inspired a new generation of Czech artists to express themselves in new ways, often looking to the international art scene, in particular that of France, for new ideas.


Early 20th-century Czech art

Max Švabinský Max Švabinský (17 September 1873 – 10 February 1962) was a Czech painter, draughtsman, graphic artist, and professor in Academy of Graphic Arts in Prague. Švabinský is considered one of the more notable artists in the history of Czech pa ...
(1873–1962) is one of the most notable artists from the period and his work spans many styles. His early work touched upon the genres of Realism and Symbolism. He designed windows for
St Vitus Cathedral The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saints Vitus, Wenceslaus and Adalbert () is a Catholic metropolitan cathedral in Prague, and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. Until 1997, the cathedral was dedicated only to Saint Vitus, and is still commonly ...
in Prague. He was widely regarded during his own lifetime and he was one of the few artists who was accepted by the Communist regime and was often commissioned by the government for official portraits. However, he was not a particularly political individual.


Cubism

An important movement of Czech art in the 20th century was
Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...
, the most creative period being 1910–1919. Whilst there were visual artists who worked in the style, Czech Cubism is often mostly associated with architecture, so much so that the art historian Miroslav Lamac commented "Prague became the city of cubism".
Bohumil Kubišta Bohumil Kubišta (21 August 1884 in Vlčkovice, Bohemia – 27 November 1918 in Prague)Chilvers, Ian, and John Glaves-Smith. "Kubišta, Bohumil." in ''A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art''. Oxford University Press, 2009. Oxford Reference ...
is an important artist associated with the movement and his work displays many French influences such as the brushwork of
Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...
as well as the obvious influence of
Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
.
František Kupka František Kupka (23 September 1871 – 24 June 1957), also known as ''Frank Kupka'' or ''François Kupka,'' was a Czech painter and graphic artist A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, eit ...
is probably the most internationally recognised Czech artist from the period and his work continued to evolve past Cubism, eventually establishing himself as an early pioneer of
abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...
.


Contemporary art

A notable incidence of the contemporary Czech art scene was the work unveiled to commemorate the Czech presidency of the EU in 2009, ''
Entropa ''Entropa'' is a sculpture by Czechs, Czech artist David Černý. The project was commissioned by the Czech government to mark the occasion of its presidency of the Council of the European Union, and was originally designed as a collaboration f ...
'' by
David Černý David Černý (born 15 December 1967) is a Czech artist. His works can be seen in different locations around Prague as well as in his own, Prague-based museum, called Musoleum. Early life Černý was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. From 1988 t ...
. The work explores European integration by presenting national stereotypes associated with each member state of the EU, some of which offended many viewers of the work.


Art galleries and museums

The
Czech National Gallery The National Gallery Prague (, NGP), formerly the National Gallery in Prague (), is a state-owned art gallery in Prague, which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic and presents masterpieces of Czech and international fine a ...
is the main institution for the display of artistic creation in the Czech Republic. It consists of many departments which each focus on a different aspect of art. The collection of pre-19th-century art is divided between the Convent of St Agnes, which contains medieval art, the Šternberský palác, dedicated to the
Old Masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...
of Western European art, and the Schwarzenberský palác which focuses on works from the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
to the
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
created in the Czech Lands. The main centre for the display of Czech art from the 19th century is
St. George's Convent, Prague St. George's Convent () was a community of Benedictine nuns located in Prague Castle in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) between 973 and 1782. Founded in 973, the abbey was next to the seat of ecclesiastical and state power in Bohemia and occasi ...
. The Moravian Gallery in Brno is the second largest art gallery in the Czech Republic. Its collection of modern art focuses particularly on the works of artists from the Czech Lands. It looks at both fine art and performance art.


See also

*
List of Czech artists by date This is a list of Czech Republic, Czech artists. These include artists in traditional media such as painting, sculpture, photography and printmaking as well as other genres, including installation art, performance art, conceptual art and video a ...
*
Infant Jesus of Prague The Infant Jesus of Prague (: ) is a 16th-century wax-coated wooden statue of the Child Jesus holding a ''globus cruciger'' of Spanish origin, now located in the Discalced Carmelite Church of Our Lady of Victories in Malá Strana, Prague, C ...


References


External links


The National Gallery

Concise history of Czech Fine Art

Gallery of Czech contemporary art
{{Art of Europe Culture of the Czech Republic Culture of Czechoslovakia