Annotation
Italian Influences on Baroque Art in the Czech Lands
Rudolf II Habsburg raised court patronage in post-Renaissance Europe to a new level of breadth and extravagance. Prague, the seat of the Emperor, became one of the leading centres of the arts on the continent. The period of the reign of Rudolf II (1576 – 1612) is considered as one of the most important in the Bohemian history of art. Prague became the capital of the Roman Empire with the seat of the Habsburg Emperor. Rudolf II is known as one of the most important art collectors and benefactor in his time, therefore Prague became a significant artistic centre of the late Mannerism. The lectures will focus on typical manifestations of Rudolfine painting, also called the School of Prague. The Baroque style came to the Czech Lands during the Thirty Years' War. It was strongly supported by the rich Catholic aristocracy and the Catholic church, which became the only legal church after 1627. The High Baroque period in the Czech lands begins around the year 1690 and lasts to the mid-18th century. The lectures deal with the beginning of the Baroque style in the Czech lands. The major artist of this era was a painter Karel Škréta, who was an excellent portraitist of the early Baroque painting. Škréta brought the Italian style into the Czech lands because he visited a number of Italian towns and stayed in Rome and Venice for some time. He made a lot of altarpieces for Prague churches, monasteries and private collectors. The lectures intend to explore and define the phenomenon of collecting in Bohemia with a special focus on the 17th century. The course aims to identify and interpret how collecting and the associated artistic patronage changed from the end of the 16th century in the course of the following century. During the lessons, we will explore and analyze Bohemian collections belonging to the nobility, also by the comparison with the Central European and Italian models which have inspired them.