New books
Veřejný prostor v ohrožení?
Městský veřejný prostor - jeho podoba, funkce, nové funkce i možná ohrožení – je dnes tématem živých diskuzí jak odborné, tak široké veřejnosti. Je také tématem velmi komplexním, neboť městský veřejný prostor má vždy nějaký fyzický tvar, je naplněn aktivitami, mezilidskými kontakty a vztahy, nese kulturní významy. Architektonicko-urbanistické, sociální a kulturní prvky se zde vzájemně propojují a podmiňují. I proto je vhodné v teoretických analýzách přistupovat k tomuto tématu z perspektivy různých vědeckých disciplín, jak se o to pokouší právě tato kolektivní publikace. Zastoupeny jsou v ní výklady sociologické, filosofické, právní a uměleckohistorické, analýz z pohledu teorie urbanismu i památkové péče, ale všímá si i živého umění v městském prostoru.
Miloš Cvach: Není to socha!
Sochař Miloš Cvach (nar. 1945 ve Víru v okrese Žďár nad Sázavou) patří k umělcům, jejichž tvorba je v českém prostředí známa a reflektována pouze omezeně. Jednou z příčin je to, že v roce 1973 emigroval a usadil se v Paříži, kde žije dodnes. Kniha je první monografií, mapující souhrnně jeho život a dílo od figurálních prací, vzniklých na Akademii výtvarných umění v Praze, přes objekty a reliéfy, blízké minimalismu, až k současné tvorbě – reliéfům, autorským knihám, kresbám, grafikám a videu.
Orient oder Rom? History and Reception of a Historiographical myth (1901-1970)
Today, the question of the origins of Christian aesthetics is no longer a topical issue in medieval art history, although a persuasive answer has never been formulated. One of the reasons for this oblivion deals with the looming figure of Josef Strzygowski, who published his pivotal volume Orient oder Rom in 1901, now discredited for its racial and proto-Nazi ideas. However, the debate does not concern Strzygowski alone: the prodromes of this critical concept go back to the nineteenth century, when the Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires fought to control contested territories, and studies of the humanities mirrored these conflicts. This volume, originating in the urgency to reflect on this pivotal conundrum in our field, attempts to reconstruct the (mis)fortune of a question that, according to Alois Riegl, “is the most important and most trenchant one in the entire history of mankind to date”.
Art in an Unsettled Time. Bohemian Book Illumination before Gutenberg (c.1375-1450)
Thirteen studies in English and German bring new insights into a number of masterpieces of Bohemian book painting, which have been examined so far mainly from a stylistic point of view. The book also acquaints the readers with unknown or little-known manuscripts. The publication illustrates how the turbulent end of the 14th century and the socio-political changes of the Hussite period influenced the form of manuscript production. The researches, inter alia, focus on the relationship between text and image, the function of the depiction, the mass productin of manuscripts, and the question of what Hussite iconography is. Texts: Barbara Drake Boehm (New York), Pavol Černý (Ostrava/Olomouc), Lara Fortunato (Neapol/Berlin), Tomáš Gaudek (Prague), Jan Gromadzki (Wrocław), Alena Hadravová (Prague), Petr Hadrava (Prague), Hana Hlaváčková (Prague), Kateřina Horníčková (Salzburg / České Budějovice), Ulrike Jenni (Prague), Kateřina Kubínová (Prague), Irina von Morzé (Vienna), Lenka Panušková (Prague), Daniela Rywiková (Ostrava), Maria Theisen (Vienna)
Fondy a sbírky oddělení dokumentace Ústavu dějin umění AV ČR, v. v. i.
Funds and Collections of the Department of Documentation of the Institute of Art History of the Czech Academy of Sciences is a unique collection of sources for the history of art in the field of history, preservation, and cultural policy in the Czech lands from the last decades of the 19th century to the present. It contains (often unpublished) research results of several generations of Czech art historians. Extensive design, graphic, photographic, artistic and other collections represent an exceptionally rich historical iconography documenting not only architectural but also movable monuments and urban and landscape features of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia. The publication provides basic information on these founds, and it is the first guideline for those interested in studying in the documentation department.
Proměny venkovské architektury s důrazem na vývoj v 19. a 20. století I.
The publications Changes in rural architecture with an emphasis on development in the 19th and 20th centuries I is devoted to the development of rural construction in five administrative regions, which are mostly located in Moravia and Silesia. It focuses mainly on the 19th and 20th centuries as compared to the current situation. It offers the possibility of looking at the architecture of the Moravian and Silesian countryside from another, less common angle. The book also accompanies a travelling exhibition of the same name.
Cim 2. Pražský evangeliář Cim 2. Rukopis mezi zeměmi a staletími středověké Evropy
This book follows the fortunes of one of the most valuable manuscripts to be preserved in the Czech Republic. In the library of the Prague Metropolitan Chapter, under the shelf mark Cim 2, there is to be found a lavishly illuminated evangeliary, which was produced towards the end of the Carolingian era, roughly in the late 870s. Until now no monograph had been devoted to this manuscript, and, although it is well known, it had remained on the margins of interest in the specialist literature. This book attempts to fill this gap. It reconsiders previous views and attempts to find answers to questions that are of fundamental importance in relation to the codex. In particular, a fresh look is taken at the enigmatic question of the origin of the manuscript, on which a number of illuminators worked, coming from various schools: Franco-Saxon ornamentalists, figure painters who perhaps came from Rheims, and scribes from Corvey in Saxony. The remarkable iconography with scenes of the calling of the apostles at last also receives a comprehensive analysis.
Hortus inventariorum. Statě k problematice inventářů pro dějiny umění
This collective publication deals with selected themes relating to inventories – a traditional and widely-used source for art-historical research. It covers a time span ranging from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. The work is not only concerned with presenting and interpreting specific examples, but also attempts to place the phenomenon of inventories in a broader cultural, social, and political context. It aims to show how the genesis and idea of compiling inventories is linked to more general changes in the way society functions and how the increased interest in classifying and cataloguing in certain eras is related to the philosophical attitudes of the time or to changes in certain social connections. The work also tries to define the concept of inventories from the viewpoint of art history and archives and to present possible ways of using them for research. In addition, it also takes into consideration other sources of a similar type and their informative value.
Josef Sudek: Topografie sutin/ The Topography of Ruins
In 1945, photographer Josef Sudek (1896–1976) set out into the streets of Prague to document the damage wreaked by the Second World War. The result was a set of nearly 400 images capturing the injured urban landscape – damaged buildings, a scrapyard containing dismantled sculptures, and firefighting or anti-air raid measures. The exhibition at Prague City Gallery’s House of Photography (22 May – 19 August 2018) and the accompanying traveling exhibition shown the same year in various cities throughout Europe thanks to cooperation with the Czech Centers are the first comprehensive presentation of this nearly unknown part of Sudek’s work. The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive catalogue featuring five critical essays and a rich set of images. The texts – the first expert analyses of these photographs – place these works within the context of the historical events at the end of the war in Prague, and offer a comparison with images of Prague in 1945 shot by other photographers. In most photographs of historical events, the content tends to overshadow the quality of the images, but the exhibition and catalogue show that this common view does not apply to Josef Sudek – the depth and quality of his images reflect their authors’ sensitive, personal captivation by this difficult subject.
Dějiny umění v českých zemích 800–2000 / Art in the Czech Lands 800–2000
Naši čtenáři zatím neměli příležitost seznámit se s dějinami umění v Čechách a na Moravě v jednom knižním svazku. Tuto mezeru vyplňuje bohatě ilustrovaná týmová práce Ústavu dějin umění AV ČR v Praze, která sleduje proměny umělecké tvorby v českých zemích od Velké Moravy po současnost. Zabývá se malířstvím, sochařstvím, architekturou, knižní malbou, uměleckým řemeslem, fotografií i jinými druhy umělecké tvorby; osm stovek vybraných děl zasazuje do historických souvislostí jejich vzniku. Jádro knihy tvoří takzvané "rodinky", skupiny dvou, tří nebo čtyř uměleckých prací, které spojuje dohromady osobnost královského nebo šlechtického objednavatele, vznik díla v prostředí starých klášterů, na půdě moderních akademií nebo na pozadí dobových náboženských nebo politických proudů, příslušnost k vyhraněnému uměleckému směru, různá ztvárnění jednoho tématu i jiné zajímavé vazby. V "rodinkách" se čtenářům představí nejvýznamnější umělecké výkony spojené s českým územím i nejvýznamnější umělecké osobnosti, od mistra Theodorika a Petra Parléře přes tvůrce kubistické a meziválečné avantgardy po současné umělce Veroniku Bromovou nebo Federica Díaze. Kniha vychází v české a anglické mutaci. /Taťána Petrasová – Rostislav Švácha (eds.), Dějiny umění v českých zemích 800–2000 / Art in the Czech Lands 800–2000, Praha: Artefactum – Arbor vitae societas, 2017, 992 s./