Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ances in Prague).
Mikuláš Aleš
, whose sgraffito designs can be seen on many of the city's
nineteenth-century buildings, is underrepresented, though you can admire his decorative de-
piction of the historical meeting between George of Poděbrady and Matthias Corvinus.
Schwarzenberský palác - Czech Baroque art
Hradčanské náměstí 2 • Tues-Sun 10am-6pm • 150Kč •
ngprague.cz
The powerful Lobkowicz family replaced seven houses on the south side of the square with
an over-the-top sgraffitoed pile now known as the
Schwarzenberský palác
after its last ar-
istocratic owners. For a brief period, it belonged to the Rožmberk family, whose last in line,
Petr Vok, in 1601 held the infamous banquet that proved fatal to the Danish astronomer Ty-
cho Brahe. So as not to offend his host, Tycho refrained from leaving the table before Vok,
only to burst his bladder, after which he staggered off to his house in Nový Svět, where he
died five days later. The palace now houses the National Gallery's vast collection of
Czech
Baroque art
, which is of only limited interest to the nonspecialist. Chronologically, the col-
lection begins on the second floor, where you can get a brief glimpse of the overtly sensu-
al and erotic tastes of Rudolf II, who enjoyed works such as Hans von Aachen's sexually
charged
Suicide of Lucretia
andJosefHeintz'sriotousorgyinhis
Last Judgement
.Thepaltry
remains of Rudolf's
Kunstkammer
are pretty disappointing, but the adjacent room contains
some superb woodcuts by Dürer, Holbein and Altdorfer among others, including some won-
derfully imaginative depictions of Satan and the Whore of Babylon. The rest of the gallery,
which is spread over three floors, is given over to the likes of Karel Škréta and Petr Brandl,
whose paintings and sculptures spearheaded the Counter-Reformation and fill chapels and
churches across the Czech Lands. Perhaps the most compelling reason to wade through the
gallery is to admire the vigorous, gesticulating sculptures of Matthias Bernhard Braun and
Ferdinand Maximilian Brokof.
Šternberský palác - European art
Hradčanské náměstí 15 • Tues-Sun 10am-6pm • 150Kč •
ngprague.cz
A passage alongside the archbishop's palace from Hradčanské náměstí leads to the early
eighteenth-century
Šternberský palác
, which houses the National Gallery's vast
European
art
collection. This ranges mainly from the
fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries
, but ex-
cludesworksbyCzechartistsoftheperiod,whichyou'llfindinthe
Schwarzenberskýpalace
andinthe
Anežskýklášter
.
Thehandfulofmasterpiecesmakesavisitworthwhile,andthere's
an elegant café in the courtyard. To see the National Gallery's more impressive nineteenth-
and twentieth-century European art collection, you need to pay a visit to the
Veletržní palác
.
First floor
The tour route begins on the
first floor
with
Tuscan
religious art, most notably a series of
exquisite miniature triptychs by Bernardo Daddi, plus several striking triangular-framed por-
traits of holy figures by Pietro Lorenzetti, including a very fine
St Anthony the Abbot
, with
