I was honestly looking forward to this topic. It is one of my favorite parts of Czech culture - Czech Cubism. Before I start describing what exactly Czech Cubism is, let's look at the beginning of this artistic style.
Around 1910, Pablo Picasso - Spaniard and a representative of world cubism - moved away from the traditional form of art. In 1908, Picasso painted his controversial work, "The Young Ladies of Avignon", where he used new angles and new shapes. This painter and many other artists used the reflection of light and the distribution of shapes to other shapes that point to a new style - cubism. It was here in Prague that the work of a Spanish painter found such a response and hit the general public.
Cubism developed in the Czech Republic in a very short period, between 1911 and 1914. In the year 1911, a group called - The Group of Fine Artists was established. This group includes, for example, painter Emil Filla and Josef Čapek, as well as significant architect Josef Gočár, Pavel Janák, and Josef Chochol and others. I would like to mention a few of them that, in my opinion, have been the most influential in Cubism in the Czech Republic
Interestingly, Cubism has not been reflected in architecture anywhere else in the world, but only in Prague. And that's why we'll talk about it today. Cubism offered a much simpler structure than the previous Art Nouveau. It was easier to use the game of light and shadow and symbolism in architecture.
The first representative is architect Josef Gočár. According to his plan/project, the most famous and the first Cubist building in Bohemia was built - The House of the Black Madonna, which you can find on Celetna Street. It stands on the place of a former baroque house, from which was taken the name and symbol - a Baroque statue of the Black Madonna. Formerly the house served as a shopping mall. Today we can find in the house a very popular café and exhibition hall where you can see Cubist period furniture and ceramics.
The second representative who collaborated with Josef Gočár is Pavel Janák, who contributed to the design of the building known today as the "Adria Palace". Honestly, the building seems a little heavy-footed to me, but I would have blamed myself if I hadn't written it here as an example. Together with Josef Gočár, they founded the Prague Art Workshops, which also created home furnishings and ceramics.
Another beautiful cubist example is a house known as ,,Trojdům on Rašínovo nábřeží" - by architect Josef Chochol.
You can learn more about Cubism by visiting one of these places. But there is much more and you will certainly not regret visiting one of the exhibitions of Czech Cubist painters.
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From our external collaborator Tereza Kultová