1 Chrám Svatého Mikuláše (St Nicholas's Church)
2 Josefov
3 Katedrála Svatého Víta (St Vitus's Cathedral)
4 Loreta
5 Pražský Hrad (Prague Castle)
6 Staroměstská Radnice (Old Town Hall)
7 Šternberský Palác (Sternberg Palace)
8 Strahovský Klášter (Strahov Monastery)
9 Václavské náměstí (Wenceslas Square)
10 Veletržní Palác (Veletrzny Palace)
The gallery's outstanding collection of modern Czech and European art is housed in a 1920s constructivist palace.
Designed by Oldřich Tyl and Josef Fuchs for the Prague Trade Fair of 1928, the enormous glass-fronted building was described by the famous modernist architect, Le Corbusier, as 'breathtaking'. The priceless French collection runs the gamut of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists. Among the highlights are Two Women among the Flowers (1875), by Monet, Green Rye, by Van Gogh (1889), and one of Gauguin's Tahiti paintings, Flight (1902). Picasso is represented by several contrasting paintings, ranging from an arresting, primitivist Self Portrait, dating from 1907, to Clarinet (1911), a classic example of analytic Cubism. There are also works by Braque, Chagall, Derain, Vlaminck, Raoul Dufy, Fernand Léger, Albert Marquet and Marie Laurencin. Among the sculptures are works by Rodin, Henri Laurens, and an unusual study of a dancer by Dégas.
French painting was a major source of inspiration for Czech artists seeking an alternative to the predominant German culture of the late 19th century. Jan Zrzavy, Bohumil Kubišta and Emil Filla all progressed from neo-Impressionism to more abstract styles. Kubišta's Still Life with Funnel (1910) was directly influenced by a similar study by Picasso. Other artists producing Cubist works at the time include Filla, Václav Špála and the sculptor Otto Gutfreund. The Czechs' affinity with French art becomes even more noticeable in the inter-war period, when the two countries were closely bound together by political and diplomatic ties. The crowning moment came in 1935, when the founder of the Surrealist movement, André Breton, visited Czechoslovakia at the invitation of the Prague Surrealists, Jindřich Štyrský, Vincenc Makovsky and Toyen (Marie Čermínová). The exhibition concludes with sections on post-war and contemporary art.Address: Dukelskych hrdinů 47, Praha 7
Phone: 2430 1024/1111
Open: Tue-Wed, Fri-Sun 10-6, Thu 10-9
Restaurant: Café (Moderately priced)
Bus: 5, 12, 17
Metro: Vltavská
Train: Holešovice
Accessible: Few
Admission: Moderate
Other: Lapidárium
| COUNTRY |
| Czech Republic |
| REGION |
| CITIES |
| Prague
|
| Viewing |
| Top Ten |
| What To See |
| Where To ... |
| Practical Matters |
| MAPS |
| World |
| Europe |
| TRAVEL BOOK |
 |