Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
long curly hair and beard. Before you move on, take a detour to the side room 11, which
contains Orthodox icons from Venice, the Balkans and Russia. Moving swiftly into the gal-
lery's large
Flemish
collection, it's worth checking out Dieric Bouts's
Lamentation
, a com-
plex composition crowded with figures in medieval garb. Other works worth seeking out are
Caroto'seffeminate
St John the Evangelist on Patmos
,inroom10,StJohnlazilydreamingof
the apocalypse, and the two richly coloured Bronzino portraits in room 12. One of the most
eye-catching works is Jan Gossaert's
St Luke Drawing the Virgin
, in room 13, an exercise in
architectural geometry and perspective that once hung in the cathedral.
Second floor
The huge
second floor
is best taken at a canter by nonexperts. Outstanding works here in-
clude
Tintoretto
's
St Jerome
(room17),asearchingportraitofoldage;awonderfullyrugged
portrait of a Spanish guerilla leader from the Peninsular War by
Goya
(room 22); and a mes-
merizing
Praying Christ
by
El Greco
(room 23). Be sure, too, to have a look at the Činský
kabinet(room35),asmallovalchambersmotheredingaudyBaroquechinoiserie,andoneof
the palace'sfew surviving slices oforiginal decor.Elsewhere, there is a series ofcanvases by
the
Brueghel
family (room 26),
Rembrandt
's
Scholar in his Study
(room 29) and
Rubens
'
colossal
Murder of St Thomas
(room 30), with its pink-buttocked cherubs hovering over the
bloody scene. Nearby, in the vast (and uneven) Dutch section, there's a wonderful portrait of
an arrogant “young gun” named Jasper by
Frans Hals
(room 31).
Ground floor
The
ground floor
galleries contain one of the most prized paintings in the whole collection:
the
Feast of the Rosary
by
Albrecht Dürer
, in room 1, depicting, among others, the Virgin
Mary, the Pope, the Holy Roman Emperor, and even a self-portrait of Dürer himself (top
right). This was one of Rudolf II's most prized acquisitions (he was an avid Dürer fan), and
wastransportedonfootacrosstheAlpstoPrague(hedidn'ttrustwheeledtransportwithsuch
apreciousobject).AlsointhisroomareseveralsuperbcanvasesbyLucasCranachtheElder.
Theonlyothergroundfloorroomworththefootworkisroom3,whereHansRaphons's
Pas-
sion Altar
-
Christ in Purgatory
features some wicked devils, especially the green she-devil
with cudgel.
Martinický palác - Museum of Mechanical Musical Instruments
Hradčanské náměstí 8 • Open only by prior arrangement • 150Kč • 777 798 040,
martinickypalac.cz
Compared to the other palaces on the square, the
Martinickýpalác
, at no. 8, is a fairly mod-
est affair, built in 1620 by one of the councillors who survived the
second defenestration
. Its
rich sgraffito decoration, which continues in the inner courtyard, was only discovered during
restorationworkinthe1970s.Onthefacade,youcaneasilymakeoutPotiphar'swifemaking
a grab at a naked and unwilling Joseph. The interior, which has a series of fine Renaissance
ceilings, also holds the
MuseumofMechanical Musical Instruments
(Muzeum hudebních