The sixth volume of the unique edition Stavitelé katedrál published by ARS AURO PRIOR by art historian PhDr. Peter Kováč concludes his unique publication series, which undoubtedly deserves our highest praise. There is nothing like it on the domestic or foreign market across Europe. Both in its massive scope, as well as in the exceptionally wide collection of documents and serious processing.

The life credo of the journalist, publicist and writer Kováč (born 1955) is a Latin saying ars auro prior - art over gold. This has defined his research and authorial work on the presented masterpiece throughout his life. In June 2019, Peter Kováč was awarded a prize for his book project Stavitelé katedrál was awarded the St. John of God Medal, which was presented to him in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague by the then Czech Primate Dominic Cardinal Duka. The reviewers of Kováč's publications have no doubt that other important awards are in the pipeline for the enormous amount of work Kováč has done so far with the aim of popularising the history and history of art.

More than 700 pages and a large amount of illustrative material

As in the case of the previous five volumes (Katedrála v Chartes, Christ's crown of thorns, Úsvit renesance, Zrození genia a Katedrála v Remeši) the reader is flooded with a literal tsunami of information, dates, numbers and historical events, all arranged in the timeline and historical events of the time. It is almost impossible to imagine what Peter Kováč must have studied, and the list of scholars and personalities with whom he collaborated in this work is equally long. We can find among them people from the USA, France, Poland, Germany or Hungary, for example. The author thanks them and others at the beginning of the publication, among whom he also names three teachers who have influenced Peter Kovács the most:

Prof. Jan Bialostocki for teaching him to perceive visual art and architecture as a symbolic form. To Prof. Pio Tróvi Skubiszewski for understanding that research on medieval art can be a beautiful exact science and to Prof. Jaromír Homolka for conveying the fact that to perceive art one also needs emotion and human passion.

Happy sixth birthday

As is well known, or rather, we read at the end of the last, sixth and sixth volume of the Kovács series, the six is a medieval symbol of a good work. Due to the volume of the presented publication, for once we will avoid an analysis of individual chapters, which we will compensate the esteemed readership with a quotation from the back cover of the book:

The texts of art historian Peter Kováč are complemented by studies by the most prominent experts in 12th and 13th century European art from the Czech Republic, France, Germany and the USA. The book also contains an anthology of medieval documents relating to building and artistic practice. An appendix includes a major essay Smrt katedrál by the French writer Marcel Proust. The photographs in the book were taken during the author's private study trips to Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Great Britain.

The sixth volume, entitled French Art, completes the publisher's series Stavitelé katedrál. All the volumes together have almost 3500 pages and more than 3000 original photographs. Thirty-nine renowned art historians from nine countries contributed their studies and articles.

Summarized by

"In his publishing series, art historian Peter Kováč, PhD, has concentrated the basic knowledge of France and Italy as the two great creative centres of Latin Europe, which shaped its artistic face in the 12th and 13th centuries, a period that was a turning point in the history of the continent...I know of no other comparable book project...", Prof. Dr. Piotr Skubiszewski, Professor Emeritus of the University of Warsaw in Poland and the University of Poitiers in France, bids farewell to the readers of this masterpiece.

It remains to note that Peter Kováč dedicated the unique book to Iveta and Jaroslav Líbal and Vladimír Lacin with thanks for their support and great help in the preparation of the final 6th part of the book. Stavitelů katedrál. Více zde The book can also be purchased in the online bookstore kosmas.cz

Ivan Cerny