photo: ngprague.cz
The two exhibitions complement each other to form a coherent whole, while presenting spectacular works of art in different contexts.
The new exhibition in the Sternberg Palace continues the historical tradition of exhibiting masterpieces in this building, which served as the headquarters of the Society of Patriotic Friends of Art, the predecessor of today's National Gallery Prague, between 1811 and 1871. This time, the artworks will be exhibited in the context of art centres and their interconnections. Old Masters II presents the best of the unique collections of the NGP and its partners - for example, the rare collection of Russian Christian icons kept in Prague, representing the extraordinary personality of their collector Nikodim P. Kondakov. The exhibition also presents a unique collection of 14th- and 15th-century Italian paintings collected mainly by Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. It is the largest collection of the so-called Italian Primitive School preserved outside Italy and explores artwork in the Italian cities of Siena, Florence, Venice and Padua.
The collection of early Italian art is complemented by Renaissance and Baroque paintings (Alessandro Allori, Jacopo Bassano, Luca Giordano). The collections of Dutch and Flemish painting from the 15th to the 18th centuries are also exceptional, with the main focus on the art of Antwerp, Amsterdam, Utrecht and Leyden (Herri met de Bles, Pieter II. Brueghel, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Rachel Ruysch, Gerard Ter Borch, Nicolaes Eliasz. Pickenoy).
A rare work is the altar with the Crucifixion by Hans Raphon. It is the only completely preserved retable of the Passion of Christ in public collections in the Czech Republic. Central European works of art are represented by a collection of Nuremberg art and selected solitaires from the territory of present-day Germany, especially from the important commercial and artistic area of the Rhineland from the 15th to 18th centuries (Hans Baldung Grien, Hans Dürer). The exhibition also presents works of art from German and Austrian lands created in the 17th and 18th centuries (Georg Flegel, Paul Troger, Johann Carl Loth, Johann Michael Rottmayr). A smaller collection of French and Spanish art from the 17th and 18th centuries is notable for the importance and quality of the solitary works on display (Charles Mellin, Pierre Mignard, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo).
Curators: prof: Martina Jandlová Sošková, Olga Kotková, Lucie Němečková
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