INTRODUCTION A nation’s fate affects its institutions as much as its people. The history of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague (UPM), founded in 1885, reflects the political changes that came to bear on society in Central Europe during the 20th century. The museum was established during the Austro-Hungarian monarchy by various individuals, mostly members of the Chamber of Trade and Commerce in Prague. In the second half of the 19th century, these Chambers, inspired by Western Europe, founded the increasingly popular museums of applied arts that were intended to refine public taste and promote the manufacture of well-designed products. Prior to the disbanding of these Chambers and the museum’s nationalisation in 1949, it had been administered by a board of directors appointed from representatives of prominent institutions and the Chamber proper. The board was usually chaired by the Prague Chamber’s president; the board’s presidents Bohumil (Gottlieb) Bondy (in post 1884–88), Josef Wohanka (in post 1896–1902), and others were influential in the construction of the museum’s building. Many of the Chamber’s members devoted a substantial part of their lives to the museum as art collectors, aficionados, advisors and devoted patrons. Vojtěch (Adalbert) Lanna (1836–1909) was a decisive figure in the formation of the museum’s holdings (his portrait is shown in the above 1906 pen drawing by Max Švabinský). Today, his collections of arts and crafts are scattered around museums worldwide, as he sold most of them at auction in 1909. In 1906 he donated a large collection of glass to the museum, totalling 1,106 items, which became the core of one of the world’s most outstanding glass collections, and which continues to be augmented through gifts and acquisitions. The museum’s first director Karel Chytil (in post 1885–1911), a co-founder of the institution, enriched its collections and library, and was instrumental in the construction of the new museum building. After Czechoslovakia’s establishment in 1918, UPM focused on contemporary art and organised many exhibitions and modern product competitions to enhance the art industry. Before the outbreak of World War II, the museum had been internationally active both in its specialised work and its acquisition policy. This constancy was
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broken by the forced expulsion of people of Jewish origin, or due to political persecution, and the appropriation, or Aryanisation of their property. These individuals included accomplished members of the Chamber and other patrons of the museum. From 1941 parts of the confiscated art collections were amassed in the Prager Museen depository under the aegis of Professor K. M. Swoboda (1889–1971), who managed to transfer them to Prague’s museums, before the city’s liberation in May 1945. However, it was only in the early 21st century that these items were identified and, whenever possible, restituted to their former owners, in keeping with the Washington Conference Principles of 1998. The liquidation of private property continued after 1945, as the Communists prepared to take over the government and after 1948, when they actually seized power. In 1949 the museum was nationalised and entered a period of international isolation. Its collections were filled with confiscated artworks from private owners, notably the aristocracy, industrialists and the Church. On the positive side, its extensive holdings of historical arts and crafts in Bohemia could be inventoried and preserved, providing a better knowledge of their wealth and diversity. After the collapse of the Communist regime in 1989, parts of these collections were returned to their rightful owners. In its transition to an ‘open’ museum once again, it fluidly resumed its earlier endeavours of specialised work and pursuit of acquisitions. Existing relationships with specialists and institutions abroad were expanded into international projects, and the sense of belonging to Europe was regained.
INTRODUCTION
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INTRODUCTION A nation’s fate affects its institutions as much as its people. The history of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague (UPM), founded in 1885, reflects the political changes that came to bear on society in Central Europe during the 20th century. The museum was established during the Austro-Hungarian monarchy by various individuals, mostly members of the Chamber of Trade and Commerce in Prague. In the second half of the 19th century, these Chambers, inspired by Western Europe, founded the increasingly popular museums of applied arts that were intended to refine public taste and promote the manufacture of well-designed products. Prior to the disbanding of these Chambers and the museum’s nationalisation in 1949, it had been administered by a board of directors appointed from representatives of prominent institutions and the Chamber proper. The board was usually chaired by the Prague Chamber’s president; the board’s presidents Bohumil (Gottlieb) Bondy (in post 1884–88), Josef Wohanka (in post 1896–1902), and others were influential in the construction of the museum’s building. Many of the Chamber’s members devoted a substantial part of their lives to the museum as art collectors, aficionados, advisors and devoted patrons. Vojtěch (Adalbert) Lanna (1836–1909) was a decisive figure in the formation of the museum’s holdings (his portrait is shown in the above 1906 pen drawing by Max Švabinský). Today, his collections of arts and crafts are scattered around museums worldwide, as he sold most of them at auction in 1909. In 1906 he donated a large collection of glass to the museum, totalling 1,106 items, which became the core of one of the world’s most outstanding glass collections, and which continues to be augmented through gifts and acquisitions. The museum’s first director Karel Chytil (in post 1885–1911), a co-founder of the institution, enriched its collections and library, and was instrumental in the construction of the new museum building. After Czechoslovakia’s establishment in 1918, UPM focused on contemporary art and organised many exhibitions and modern product competitions to enhance the art industry. Before the outbreak of World War II, the museum had been internationally active both in its specialised work and its acquisition policy. This constancy was
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broken by the forced expulsion of people of Jewish origin, or due to political persecution, and the appropriation, or Aryanisation of their property. These individuals included accomplished members of the Chamber and other patrons of the museum. From 1941 parts of the confiscated art collections were amassed in the Prager Museen depository under the aegis of Professor K. M. Swoboda (1889–1971), who managed to transfer them to Prague’s museums, before the city’s liberation in May 1945. However, it was only in the early 21st century that these items were identified and, whenever possible, restituted to their former owners, in keeping with the Washington Conference Principles of 1998. The liquidation of private property continued after 1945, as the Communists prepared to take over the government and after 1948, when they actually seized power. In 1949 the museum was nationalised and entered a period of international isolation. Its collections were filled with confiscated artworks from private owners, notably the aristocracy, industrialists and the Church. On the positive side, its extensive holdings of historical arts and crafts in Bohemia could be inventoried and preserved, providing a better knowledge of their wealth and diversity. After the collapse of the Communist regime in 1989, parts of these collections were returned to their rightful owners. In its transition to an ‘open’ museum once again, it fluidly resumed its earlier endeavours of specialised work and pursuit of acquisitions. Existing relationships with specialists and institutions abroad were expanded into international projects, and the sense of belonging to Europe was regained.
INTRODUCTION
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Chasuble with an orphrey cross from the Břevnov monastery, late 1370s Prague Silk velvet, embroidered with coloured silk (split stitch) and silver-gilt threads on linen, pearls, metal appliqués, red stones, bobbin lace; 138 × 80 cm Embroidery reworked in the 17th century, chasuble restored 1969–71 (at the time, the chasuble’s back side with the orphrey cross was separated) Property of the Benedictine Arch-Abbey of St Adalbert and St Margaret in Břevnov On long-term loan to the museum
The orphrey cross on the chasuble from the Břevnov monastery is a unique masterpiece of Bohemian Medieval needlework, distinguished by high-level craftsmanship and the maker’s close collaboration with artists active in Prague under the Luxembourg dynasty. The figurative embroidery preserved on these liturgical vestments reveals an iconographic, compositional and stylistic affinity with panel paintings of the second half of the 14th and early 15th centuries. Featured on the gold ground of the Y-shaped cross is the Branch Cross with the crucified Christ. Christ’s body is flanked by two angels, who emphasise the Eucharistic meaning of the scene; one holds a chalice for collecting the blood issuing from the wound in Christ’s side and the other a censer. Standing under the Cross is the group of three Marys and St John the Evangelist. Depicted in the upper part, on the arm of the cross, are the seated figures of the Evangelists, St Mark, St Matthew and St Luke, with their respective attributes (a lion, an angel and a bull). This exquisite embroidery was probably created in a Prague workshop, having formerly been part of the inventory of the Benedictine monastery in Břevnov. In 1419 the Hussite Wars broke out in Bohemia and the base of Břevnov abbey (later burnt to the ground) was moved to Broumov in eastern Bohemia. This is probably where the embroidered chasuble was re-fashioned in the Baroque style. The item entered UPM’s collections after Church property was nationalised in 1950, and today, after the rectification of property injustice from the Communist regime, it is on long-term loan to the museum. UPM’s collection of liturgical textiles is the largest of its kind in the Czech Republic. Following the political events of the 1950s, hundreds of paramenta were added to the collection, mostly Baroque, which came from the abolished monasteries. Most of these restituted ecclesiastical textiles remain on loan to the museum.
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Chasuble with an orphrey cross from the Břevnov monastery, late 1370s Prague Silk velvet, embroidered with coloured silk (split stitch) and silver-gilt threads on linen, pearls, metal appliqués, red stones, bobbin lace; 138 × 80 cm Embroidery reworked in the 17th century, chasuble restored 1969–71 (at the time, the chasuble’s back side with the orphrey cross was separated) Property of the Benedictine Arch-Abbey of St Adalbert and St Margaret in Břevnov On long-term loan to the museum
The orphrey cross on the chasuble from the Břevnov monastery is a unique masterpiece of Bohemian Medieval needlework, distinguished by high-level craftsmanship and the maker’s close collaboration with artists active in Prague under the Luxembourg dynasty. The figurative embroidery preserved on these liturgical vestments reveals an iconographic, compositional and stylistic affinity with panel paintings of the second half of the 14th and early 15th centuries. Featured on the gold ground of the Y-shaped cross is the Branch Cross with the crucified Christ. Christ’s body is flanked by two angels, who emphasise the Eucharistic meaning of the scene; one holds a chalice for collecting the blood issuing from the wound in Christ’s side and the other a censer. Standing under the Cross is the group of three Marys and St John the Evangelist. Depicted in the upper part, on the arm of the cross, are the seated figures of the Evangelists, St Mark, St Matthew and St Luke, with their respective attributes (a lion, an angel and a bull). This exquisite embroidery was probably created in a Prague workshop, having formerly been part of the inventory of the Benedictine monastery in Břevnov. In 1419 the Hussite Wars broke out in Bohemia and the base of Břevnov abbey (later burnt to the ground) was moved to Broumov in eastern Bohemia. This is probably where the embroidered chasuble was re-fashioned in the Baroque style. The item entered UPM’s collections after Church property was nationalised in 1950, and today, after the rectification of property injustice from the Communist regime, it is on long-term loan to the museum. UPM’s collection of liturgical textiles is the largest of its kind in the Czech Republic. Following the political events of the 1950s, hundreds of paramenta were added to the collection, mostly Baroque, which came from the abolished monasteries. Most of these restituted ecclesiastical textiles remain on loan to the museum.
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View of Prague Castle and Lesser Town, after 1601 (frame, later) Workshop of Giovanni Castrucci (recorded in Prague 1598–1615), Prague Pietre dure technique (agate, jasper and other stones); 18.5 × 34 cm UPM inv. no. 100 169 Confiscated by the State from the property of the Counts Clary-Aldrigen in 1945, transferred to UPM in 1962
Emperor Rudolf II was famed for his passion for precious stones and gemstone-cutting (glyptics). He admired the exquisite craftsmanship, and he also had a penchant for the esoteric studies of ‘the magical mineralogy’ and natural philosophy. In the organisation of the Prague court’s workshops, the Emperor’s key interest was the production of the Florentine mosaic called the commesso di pietre dure. After considerable effort, he managed to procure specialists in this technique directly from Florence: Cosimo Castrucci and his son Giovanni. Cosimo is documented in Prague from 1596 (he died in c.1602). After the death of Giovanni in c.1615, his son Cosimo di Giovanni and son-in-law Giuliano di Pietro Pandolfini worked in the Prague workshop, which is thought to have closed in 1624. The mosaics produced in the Castrucci workshop are extraordinary in their composition of minerals of Bohemian provenance. Jasper and agate were particularly prized for their colourful and structural variations, and aesthetically they embody the character of the Rudolfine commessi, which differ from the works of the Florentine workshops. The landscape, or veduta, was a specific art genre in itself, imbued with a deeper meaning in the philosophy of the Mannerist era: in terms of speculative cosmology it depicted the world not only through the use of pigments and linear perspective, but also with the help of minerals, referred to as ‘the bones of the Earth’, the cornerstones of the Universe. This view of Prague Castle is one of the best-known commessi executed by Giovanni Castrucci’s workshop. It was probably modelled on a veduta of 1601 by Johann Willenberg (1571–1613), or possibly a Prague scene of 1606 by Aegidius Sadeler (1570–1629). Two variants of the same subject are in the holdings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, and another one, now missing, was in the Kunstkammer of Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, in Munich. The example in the collections of UPM in Prague is valued for certain distinctive qualities, which the city itself has preserved to this day: a Mannerist tension and dynamics in a diverse composition of architectural motifs.
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View of Prague Castle and Lesser Town, after 1601 (frame, later) Workshop of Giovanni Castrucci (recorded in Prague 1598–1615), Prague Pietre dure technique (agate, jasper and other stones); 18.5 × 34 cm UPM inv. no. 100 169 Confiscated by the State from the property of the Counts Clary-Aldrigen in 1945, transferred to UPM in 1962
Emperor Rudolf II was famed for his passion for precious stones and gemstone-cutting (glyptics). He admired the exquisite craftsmanship, and he also had a penchant for the esoteric studies of ‘the magical mineralogy’ and natural philosophy. In the organisation of the Prague court’s workshops, the Emperor’s key interest was the production of the Florentine mosaic called the commesso di pietre dure. After considerable effort, he managed to procure specialists in this technique directly from Florence: Cosimo Castrucci and his son Giovanni. Cosimo is documented in Prague from 1596 (he died in c.1602). After the death of Giovanni in c.1615, his son Cosimo di Giovanni and son-in-law Giuliano di Pietro Pandolfini worked in the Prague workshop, which is thought to have closed in 1624. The mosaics produced in the Castrucci workshop are extraordinary in their composition of minerals of Bohemian provenance. Jasper and agate were particularly prized for their colourful and structural variations, and aesthetically they embody the character of the Rudolfine commessi, which differ from the works of the Florentine workshops. The landscape, or veduta, was a specific art genre in itself, imbued with a deeper meaning in the philosophy of the Mannerist era: in terms of speculative cosmology it depicted the world not only through the use of pigments and linear perspective, but also with the help of minerals, referred to as ‘the bones of the Earth’, the cornerstones of the Universe. This view of Prague Castle is one of the best-known commessi executed by Giovanni Castrucci’s workshop. It was probably modelled on a veduta of 1601 by Johann Willenberg (1571–1613), or possibly a Prague scene of 1606 by Aegidius Sadeler (1570–1629). Two variants of the same subject are in the holdings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, and another one, now missing, was in the Kunstkammer of Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, in Munich. The example in the collections of UPM in Prague is valued for certain distinctive qualities, which the city itself has preserved to this day: a Mannerist tension and dynamics in a diverse composition of architectural motifs.
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Backgammon board with a scene showing The Saving of Prince Jaromír, c.1650 Cheb (Eger), Bohemia, unsigned, the workshop of Adam Eck (?) Carved and stained wood, Cheb (Eger) relief intarsia; 58.5 × 58.5 cm, H. 11.5 cm UPM inv. no. 8 285 Purchased from the antiquarian and collector Kalmán Korchmáros, Budapest, in 1901
The scene depicts an ancient Bohemian legend from the early 11th century, where Prince Jaromír is being saved from the arrows of the enemy Vršovec clan by St John the Baptist and his servant Hovora, a mythical forebear of the Bohemian noble family of Berka of Dubá. Probably based on an earlier oil painting in the Nostitz art collections, the scene is of undulating countryside populated with trees and trimmed with a floral and fruit frame, also found on the board’s lower side. The coat of arms of the Berkas of Dubá is featured in a cartouche at the upper right. On opening the wings, an inlaid wood surface is revealed, which is the game board proper. Eger relief intarsia was a luxury form of Early Baroque craftsmanship produced during the Thirty Years’ War or soon after in the town of Cheb (Eger in German) in western Bohemia, which enjoyed the privilege of free trade with wealthy Imperial cities in Germany. This craft was practiced by several large families of the Protestant (i.e. Augsburg) faith who had settled in the region during or at the end of the Thirty Years’ War. They included Hans (Johann) Georg Fischer (1587–1669), Adam Eck (1604–1664) and the Haberstumpf and Haberlitz families. The technique combined relief intarsia, employing small pieces of varicoloured, mostly indigenous, occasionally stained woods (the reddish-brown stain imitates the Brazilian bruyere or santal wood, and the greenish colour atlas wood, but also woods affected by natural moulding). Later on, mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell were also applied. The wood-carvers mostly worked from prints, decorating jewellery boxes and étuis, as well as cabinets and secrétaires, or choir pews with religious and secular themes. Other objects included independent relief panels in frames, often signed (unless they were panels removed from furniture). Works employing Eger relief intarsia are among the most highly prized in European and other international museums and galleries.
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Backgammon board with a scene showing The Saving of Prince Jaromír, c.1650 Cheb (Eger), Bohemia, unsigned, the workshop of Adam Eck (?) Carved and stained wood, Cheb (Eger) relief intarsia; 58.5 × 58.5 cm, H. 11.5 cm UPM inv. no. 8 285 Purchased from the antiquarian and collector Kalmán Korchmáros, Budapest, in 1901
The scene depicts an ancient Bohemian legend from the early 11th century, where Prince Jaromír is being saved from the arrows of the enemy Vršovec clan by St John the Baptist and his servant Hovora, a mythical forebear of the Bohemian noble family of Berka of Dubá. Probably based on an earlier oil painting in the Nostitz art collections, the scene is of undulating countryside populated with trees and trimmed with a floral and fruit frame, also found on the board’s lower side. The coat of arms of the Berkas of Dubá is featured in a cartouche at the upper right. On opening the wings, an inlaid wood surface is revealed, which is the game board proper. Eger relief intarsia was a luxury form of Early Baroque craftsmanship produced during the Thirty Years’ War or soon after in the town of Cheb (Eger in German) in western Bohemia, which enjoyed the privilege of free trade with wealthy Imperial cities in Germany. This craft was practiced by several large families of the Protestant (i.e. Augsburg) faith who had settled in the region during or at the end of the Thirty Years’ War. They included Hans (Johann) Georg Fischer (1587–1669), Adam Eck (1604–1664) and the Haberstumpf and Haberlitz families. The technique combined relief intarsia, employing small pieces of varicoloured, mostly indigenous, occasionally stained woods (the reddish-brown stain imitates the Brazilian bruyere or santal wood, and the greenish colour atlas wood, but also woods affected by natural moulding). Later on, mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell were also applied. The wood-carvers mostly worked from prints, decorating jewellery boxes and étuis, as well as cabinets and secrétaires, or choir pews with religious and secular themes. Other objects included independent relief panels in frames, often signed (unless they were panels removed from furniture). Works employing Eger relief intarsia are among the most highly prized in European and other international museums and galleries.
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Two-piece silk dress, c.1850 Prague Silk, silk ribbons, canvas; L. of jacket 51 cm, L. of skirt 108 cm UPM inv. no. 73 873 Purchased from the Hainz family in 1970
Fashion-conscious women of Prague took great care to dress according to the latest vogue, and had many possibilities to buy fashionable clothing. The Prags fliegende Blätter journal (1846–48) and directories of the 1850s record hundreds of companies dealing in drapery and fashion wares: tailors, milliners, manufacturers of artificial flowers, feather ornaments, ribbons and passementerie trimmings, lace and embroidery, gloves, parasols, footwear and hosiery. The demand for luxury wares was also met by imports from Vienna, Milan and Paris, as well as other international fashion centres. Throughout the 1840s Prague women’s fashions evolved fluently from the Biedermeier style to the ‘Second Rococo’ phase, characterised by a slim waist, a tight-fitted bodice or a jacket with bellshaped sleeves and a sumptuous skirt supported by a crinoline. The dress here, made of silk decorated with a naturalistic floral pattern and with slightly flared sleeves and a rather full skirt, stood at the forefront of the emerging fashion for women in the 1850s, typified by a dome-like structure in dresses. This dress comes from the family of Ludwig Hainz (1813–1873), a Prague clockmaker and Old Town councillor; it could have belonged to his wife Barbara (1821–1888). In 1836 Hainz opened a shop on the Old Town Square, just across from the Town Hall’s astronomical clock. In 1873 his son Ludwig (1847–1893), returning from his studies in Switzerland, expanded his father’s clockmaking business to a pendulum and tower clocks factory, one of the largest in Austria-Hungary. From the 1860s the Hainz family was also responsible for the administration and maintenance of the Old Town Hall’s astronomical clock, an undertaking its descendants perform to this day. The museum’s clothing collection charts the development of fashion in Bohemia and abroad, and demonstrates a high level of artistry and craftsmanship; it also comprises artefacts typical of the various periods, representing, through dress, the life styles of many generations, from the 18th century to the present day.
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Two-piece silk dress, c.1850 Prague Silk, silk ribbons, canvas; L. of jacket 51 cm, L. of skirt 108 cm UPM inv. no. 73 873 Purchased from the Hainz family in 1970
Fashion-conscious women of Prague took great care to dress according to the latest vogue, and had many possibilities to buy fashionable clothing. The Prags fliegende Blätter journal (1846–48) and directories of the 1850s record hundreds of companies dealing in drapery and fashion wares: tailors, milliners, manufacturers of artificial flowers, feather ornaments, ribbons and passementerie trimmings, lace and embroidery, gloves, parasols, footwear and hosiery. The demand for luxury wares was also met by imports from Vienna, Milan and Paris, as well as other international fashion centres. Throughout the 1840s Prague women’s fashions evolved fluently from the Biedermeier style to the ‘Second Rococo’ phase, characterised by a slim waist, a tight-fitted bodice or a jacket with bellshaped sleeves and a sumptuous skirt supported by a crinoline. The dress here, made of silk decorated with a naturalistic floral pattern and with slightly flared sleeves and a rather full skirt, stood at the forefront of the emerging fashion for women in the 1850s, typified by a dome-like structure in dresses. This dress comes from the family of Ludwig Hainz (1813–1873), a Prague clockmaker and Old Town councillor; it could have belonged to his wife Barbara (1821–1888). In 1836 Hainz opened a shop on the Old Town Square, just across from the Town Hall’s astronomical clock. In 1873 his son Ludwig (1847–1893), returning from his studies in Switzerland, expanded his father’s clockmaking business to a pendulum and tower clocks factory, one of the largest in Austria-Hungary. From the 1860s the Hainz family was also responsible for the administration and maintenance of the Old Town Hall’s astronomical clock, an undertaking its descendants perform to this day. The museum’s clothing collection charts the development of fashion in Bohemia and abroad, and demonstrates a high level of artistry and craftsmanship; it also comprises artefacts typical of the various periods, representing, through dress, the life styles of many generations, from the 18th century to the present day.
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The Sun table cover, 1924–25 Emilie Paličková (1892–1973) – design Executed by the State Educational Institute for Domestic Industry in Prague, lace-making course in Schönfeld (Krásno), Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) region, Bohemia Belgian flax yarn, needle lace; diam. 158 cm UPM inv. no. 74 926 Purchased in 1971
Emilie Paličková is recognised as a leading figure in Czech textile art, who was committed to modernising and developing the art of lace-making. She sought inspiration in the philosophy of William Morris, the founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement in Great Britain, who strove to revive craftsmanship in an increasingly industrialised society. In 1918 lacemaking was a waning, yet still important, art field in the newly established Czechoslovakia. The State Educational Institute for Domestic Industry was a prominent pedagogical establishment, and as a member of its teaching staff Paličková devoted herself to reviving the status of this art discipline. Thanks to state support and the interest of the authorities in artistic lace-making, large and costly works could be realised, among them the table cover entitled The Sun. Emilie Paličková’s oeuvre was influenced by stylised, ornamental folk-art motifs, coupled with decorative trends of the 1920s; she was instrumental in elevating lace to an art form in its own right. Her collection of hand-sewn laces, which included the large Sun table cover, was awarded the Grand Prix at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris in 1925 and earned her world renown. The Sun table cover was initially intended for use in the stately rooms of the Czechoslovak President’s apartments in Prague Castle. In succeeding decades, Paličková’s works underwent stylistic changes. They were frequently included in art collections which Czechoslovakia sent to be exhibited at world’s fairs. She took part in the last exhibition mounted before World War II in New York in 1939 and the second postwar exhibition at the World’s Fair in Brussels in 1958. After the war she lectured at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague, teaching many future artists and designers who went on to enjoy international recognition in the years that followed.
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The Sun table cover, 1924–25 Emilie Paličková (1892–1973) – design Executed by the State Educational Institute for Domestic Industry in Prague, lace-making course in Schönfeld (Krásno), Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) region, Bohemia Belgian flax yarn, needle lace; diam. 158 cm UPM inv. no. 74 926 Purchased in 1971
Emilie Paličková is recognised as a leading figure in Czech textile art, who was committed to modernising and developing the art of lace-making. She sought inspiration in the philosophy of William Morris, the founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement in Great Britain, who strove to revive craftsmanship in an increasingly industrialised society. In 1918 lacemaking was a waning, yet still important, art field in the newly established Czechoslovakia. The State Educational Institute for Domestic Industry was a prominent pedagogical establishment, and as a member of its teaching staff Paličková devoted herself to reviving the status of this art discipline. Thanks to state support and the interest of the authorities in artistic lace-making, large and costly works could be realised, among them the table cover entitled The Sun. Emilie Paličková’s oeuvre was influenced by stylised, ornamental folk-art motifs, coupled with decorative trends of the 1920s; she was instrumental in elevating lace to an art form in its own right. Her collection of hand-sewn laces, which included the large Sun table cover, was awarded the Grand Prix at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris in 1925 and earned her world renown. The Sun table cover was initially intended for use in the stately rooms of the Czechoslovak President’s apartments in Prague Castle. In succeeding decades, Paličková’s works underwent stylistic changes. They were frequently included in art collections which Czechoslovakia sent to be exhibited at world’s fairs. She took part in the last exhibition mounted before World War II in New York in 1939 and the second postwar exhibition at the World’s Fair in Brussels in 1958. After the war she lectured at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague, teaching many future artists and designers who went on to enjoy international recognition in the years that followed.
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Build the Town construction set, 1941–43 (prototype) Ladislav Sutnar (1897–1976) – design Manufacturer unknown Painted wood, 30 pieces; max. H. 20 cm UPM inv. no. 106 238 Purchased through a special grant from the Czech Ministry of Culture in 2004
Designed in the first half of the 1940s the Build the Town construction set was made as a continuation of the successful Czech project called The Factory Town (1922–26), which Ladislav Sutnar re-addressed after he emigrated to the United States in 1939. The designer conceived the construction set as a children’s toy that met the educational and psychological needs of a child. The classical treatment of the geometric solids, together with their elementary colour scheme, was intended to stimulate the imagination and creativity of the child, who – by assembling the individual pieces – became the creator, not merely the owner of the toy. Correlated to the modern educational approach developed by Maria Montessori, Sutnar believed that children’s play should be regarded as an occupation in itself, necessary for a child’s physical and mental development: a playing child is not only ‘having fun’, a child at play is ‘working’. Ladislav Sutnar projected this viewpoint into his first toy designs (cars and trains), which he presented with success at the Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris in 1925 and later in 1926, when he was appointed teacher of drawing at the State Educational Institution for Domestic Industry, operated by the Ministry of Education. There, he designed prototypes of toys that were made in the institution’s workshops. In his day, toy-making was an important discipline in Czechoslovakia and it was supported by the Czechoslovak Artwork Association (Svaz československého díla), in whose exhibitions Sutnar participated with his toys reflecting everyday life. These toys were manufactured by the Artěl art cooperative (1908–35).
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THE MUSEUM OF DECORATIVE ARTS IN PRAGUE
Build the Town construction set, 1941–43 (prototype) Ladislav Sutnar (1897–1976) – design Manufacturer unknown Painted wood, 30 pieces; max. H. 20 cm UPM inv. no. 106 238 Purchased through a special grant from the Czech Ministry of Culture in 2004
Designed in the first half of the 1940s the Build the Town construction set was made as a continuation of the successful Czech project called The Factory Town (1922–26), which Ladislav Sutnar re-addressed after he emigrated to the United States in 1939. The designer conceived the construction set as a children’s toy that met the educational and psychological needs of a child. The classical treatment of the geometric solids, together with their elementary colour scheme, was intended to stimulate the imagination and creativity of the child, who – by assembling the individual pieces – became the creator, not merely the owner of the toy. Correlated to the modern educational approach developed by Maria Montessori, Sutnar believed that children’s play should be regarded as an occupation in itself, necessary for a child’s physical and mental development: a playing child is not only ‘having fun’, a child at play is ‘working’. Ladislav Sutnar projected this viewpoint into his first toy designs (cars and trains), which he presented with success at the Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris in 1925 and later in 1926, when he was appointed teacher of drawing at the State Educational Institution for Domestic Industry, operated by the Ministry of Education. There, he designed prototypes of toys that were made in the institution’s workshops. In his day, toy-making was an important discipline in Czechoslovakia and it was supported by the Czechoslovak Artwork Association (Svaz československého díla), in whose exhibitions Sutnar participated with his toys reflecting everyday life. These toys were manufactured by the Artěl art cooperative (1908–35).
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This edition © Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd, 2017 Text and photography © Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, 2017 First published in 2017 by Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd 10 Lion Yard Tremadoc Road London SW4 7NQ, UK www.scalapublishers.com In association with The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague 17. listopadu 2 110 00 Praha 1 www.upm.cz ISBN 978-1-78551-120-2 Edited by Helena Koenigsmarková Texts by Helena Brožková (pp. 24, 26, 30, 32, 38), Jiří Fronek (pp. 20, 34, 52, 60), Markéta Grill (p. 8), Milan Hlaveš (pp. 74, 78), Konstantina Hlaváčková (pp. 66, 68), Daniela Karasová (pp. 28, 36, 40, 58), Helena Koenigsmarková (pp. 4–6, 12, 22, 76), Petra Matějovičová (pp. 56, 64), Marie Míčová (p. 76), Jan Mlčoch (pp. 70, 72), Jan Schöttner (pp. 16, 18, 42, 44), Michal Stříbrný (pp. 50, 62), Petr Štembera (pp. 54), Eva Uchalová (pp. 48), Radim Vondráček (pp. 10, 14, 46) Photographs by Ondřej Kocourek and Gabriel Urbánek Translated from the Czech by Linda Leffová Copy edited by Sandra Pisano (Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers) Produced by Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd Printed in Turkey 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague and Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd.
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Front cover: Flower-form vase, c.1898 Executed by Johann Lötz Witwe glassworks, Klášterský Mlýn (Klostermühle), Bohemia Blown glass, hot-shaped, iridescent; H. 39 cm UPM inv. no. 54 163 Transferred from the Náprstek Museum in Prague in 1962
Page 2: Stained-glass windows with Allegory of the Applied Arts, 1900 (on the landing of the main staircase of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague) Josef Schulz (1840–1917) Executed by Benedikt Škarda, Brno Donated by Vojtěch (Adalbert) Lanna in 1900
Back cover: Bohuslav Schnirch (1845–1901) Prague’s coat of arms on the museum’s main façade, 1900