Prague (Day 3)

Being a Sunday, we knew that little would be open, so we opted for art since most art museums are closed on Mondays.  Wow, are we glad we did!

With very little knowledge of what we were getting into, we decided to look at the local Mucha Art Gallery that was only a few blocks away from the hotel.  It was very impressive.  I swear I've seen some of his art in other places before.  It was a very healthy collection of his works.  Without getting into too much detail, he came late in the Art Nouveau era, but his works were so immediately loved by the world that he continued to do the Art Nouveau style for the remainder of his life, well after it was no longer the popular style.  A native Czech, he was commissioned as a key part of the revitalization of the Czech Republic.  He was used in designing the currency, posters and fliers, did one of the Cathedral stained glass window panels (as mentioned in the previous post), and dedicated 18 of the last 25 years of his life to his masterpiece, the Slav Epic. 

Upon learning about the Slav Epic, we quickly checked to find that it was indeed being shown in Prague within walking distance from the art gallery we were in.  Not only that, but it had only recently been allowed to be displayed because of a decades-long legal battle between Mucha's family and the city of Prague as to who actually had the rights to display the works. 

We made it just in time to see it with time to spare before the museum closed.  It was impressive, loaded with imagery, and also so steeped in folklore that it was clearly obvious that if you were not intimately familiar with Slavic history, there would be little you would understand beyond the obviously HUGE and brilliant works.  20 panels of 20 foot by 20 foot canvas...yes, it was a large room, and the panels felt a lot larger than that.  Each panel represents a key point in Slavic history.

Here is the Wikipedia link, just to give you a general idea of what we saw.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Slav_Epic 

After seeing all of this, it was a little easier to understand why Prague had such an artistic texture to it.  There are so many buildings and nestled spots that have extraordinary artistic detail.  The city clearly has an appreciation for art.

We then had dinner at Klub Architeku.  It is a hidden underground restaurant that is quite lovely in terms of ambiance, service, and food. 

Here are some photos to share of that day...

This was on the corner outside of our hotel.  It's not paint, but a very detailed mosaic.  While we're not sure, we think it's an opera house.  There was definitely a ballet venue in the immediate proximity as well.

 

J loved this statue.  It was on top of a bank, also on the same block as our hotel.

 

Known as the "hanging man," this sculpture was the landmark for finding Klub Architeku.  The man is supposed to be a noted architect, although I couldn't tell you which one.

 

We couldn't take pictures inside the art galleries for obvious reasons, so there were scant pictures taken this day.  The next day, which was our last day, we did a final run around town with more farewell pictures.