This exhibition, prepared by the Prague Castle and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York - where it will be held under the title Prague, The Crown of Bohemia, 1347-1437 - will present, for the first time ever, the most outstanding artworks of Bohemian provenance created during the Luxembourg period, which are currently dispersed throughout European and American art collections. The colorful mosaics of the art production of Luxembourg Prague of the 14th and 15th centuries will be reconstructed through this event.
An important political and artistic center
The exhibition will be devoted , to the the reigns of the members of the Luxembourg dynasty over the Kingdom of Bohemia and to their status of Holy Roman Emperors – namely, John of Luxembourg, Charles IV, and Charles’s sons Wenceslas IV and Sigismund. In the second half of the 14th century, Prague was an important political, commercial and artistic center of Europe. Owing to the generous donor activities of the Luxembourg rulers, virtually overnight the traditional seat of the Bohemian kings became a lively city integrating diverse cultures and religions. Charles IV transformed Prague into the proud residence of the continent’s most powerful Christian sovereign – the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, into a residence whose spiritual wealth could measure up to that of "the Eternal City", Rome.
The Beautiful Style
The most distinguished painters, sculptors, goldsmiths and architects gathered at Prague’s imperial court in order to celebrate the emperor in their works and to glorify the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Bohemia. The arts of imperial Prague were a phenomenon that was soon to be emulated by numerous royal courts and seats of bishops throughout Europe. The artistic development ultimately culminated under the rule of Charles IV’s sons Wenceslas IV and Sigismund, in the creation of a unified European style of art known as the Beautiful Style.
Illustration: Reliquary of St. George ca. 1350, Metropolitní kapitula u sv. Víta, Prague, Photo: Jan Gloc
To see more illustrations, click on VERSION FRANCAISE at the top of this page
An outstanding period of European Art
This magnificent story of European cultural history will be told through some 220 superb pieces of art loaned by museums and ecclesiastical institutions in Europe and the United States. The works will include panel paintings, goldsmith objects, large wooden and stone sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, stained glass and silk embroidery. Sections examining Prague’s university, education and culture, Jewish art and Hussitism will complement the thematically arranged exhibition. Artifacts related to the Emperor’s family and everyday life at the imperial court will be on view at the Theresian Wing of Prague Castle. Art objects connected with the life of the burghers of the imperial residence will be featured in the building of the Prague City Archives.
Around the exhibition
Guided tours, extended opening hours, free CD-ROMs with comments on some 120 works of art and the historical situation in Europe of the time, accompanying events organized by the Prague City Hall, programs for children and students
Programs held at the royal castles Karlstejn, Krivoklat and Tocnik, all within 30 kilometers from Prague
Publications
A special 540 pages publication accompanying the exhibition, with approximately 300 color and 150 black-and-white illustrations, will be published in Czech and German. The English version will be devoted only to Prague
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