Department of Art of the 19th-21st Centuries

The Department of Art of the 19th–21st Centuries is engaged in researching and contextualizing visual art and architecture in the Czech lands from 1800 to the present. In line with the institute’s priorities, the department works on two long-term projects, including documenting and analyzing the concept of a public art exhibition as part of the project Prostor výstav 1820–1950. The second project, Proměny funkcí výtvarného díla, will result in a collective monograph covering the period from the beginning of the 19th century to the present. This publication aims to accentuate the specifics of modern art in the Czech lands and map its international reach.

Individual projects in the department cover topical research subjects and include projects supported by the Czech Science Foundation (Pietro Nobile, Josef Mánes), NAKI (Obraz nepřítele) as well as projects that are part of Strategy AV21 programs. The department's work also includes presentation of Czech modern art at exhibitions organized in cooperation with both local and international art institutions, such as the recent exhibitions Rozlomená doba – mezi úzkostí a slastí: Avantgardy ve střední Evropě 1908–1928 (Lenka Bydžovská received the Gloria Musealis award in 2018), Josef Sudek: Topografie sutin (2018; Vojtěch Lahoda, Katarína Mašterová), Jdi na venkov! Výtvarné umění a lidová kultura v českých zemích 1800–1960 (2019; Tomáš Winter, Pavla Machalíková). Department members prepared the digital archive Kramář Project in collaboration with the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The department takes part in various scholarly activities, including long-term collaborations (co-organizing the interdisciplinary symposiums in Plzeň) and special events (conferences on particular topics). The department's employees cooperate with a number of prominent art-historical institutions including universities and participate in various institutions' expert committees and advisory boards, while also being on editorial boards in a number of art-historical journals.