The Old Masters exhibition at the Schwarzenberg Palace presents a selection of the most significant masterpieces from the Collection of Old Art (Hans von Aachen, Petr Brandl, Matyáš Bernard Braun, Lucas Cranach, Adriaen de Vries, Albrecht Dürer, El Greco, Hans Holbein, Jan Gossaert, known as Mabuse, Peter Paul Rubens, Bartholomaeus Spranger, Karel Škréta, Michael Leopold Willmann, and others).
Its primary time frame spans the 16th to the 18th centuries, based on a retrospective view of pre-Renaissance tendencies in Gothic art and ancient works as sources of inspiration for Renaissance and Baroque art. The exhibition is conceived as a dialogue between national and international impulses, influences, and changes in the spirit of a dialectic of forms, styles, and motifs. From a curatorial perspective, it reflects the narrative aspects of European art from antiquity to the Enlightenment, historical contexts, and the timelessness of masterful works of art in an innovative installation. One section of the exhibition is dedicated to artistic production in Bohemia during the Baroque period, led by the prominent painters Karel Škréta and Petr Brandl, and the sculptor Matyáš Bernard Braun.
As part of the main entrance to the Schwarzenberg Palace, the original entrance from Hradčanské Square through the courtyard has been restored. Three halls on the ground floor are reserved for temporary collection exhibitions, and two rooms will serve as graphic art galleries.
Author and Curator: Marius Winzeler
Collaborators: Tomáš Hladík, Martina Jandlová Sošková, Olga Kotková, Lucie Němečková, Andrea Steckerová, Marcela Vondráčková
Architectural design: AP Atelier – Josef Pleskot, Norbert Schmidt, Eva Vopátková
Graphic design: Studio Najbrt – Zuzana Lednická, Jakub Spurný
Location: Schwarzenberg Palace
