This paper examines the influence of Bohemian art styles on the architectural heritage of Prague, Czech Republic. Beginning with the rise of Bohemian panel painting in the fourteenth century, the paper traces how distinctive Bohemian characteristics — slender religious figures, color separation in sculpture, ornate glasswork, and mosaic ornamentation — became embedded in major Prague landmarks. Specific structures analyzed include the Madonna panel in St. Vitus Cathedral, the Church of Virgin Mary Victorious, and Prague Castle, including St. George's Basilica and the Vladislav Hall. The paper argues that Prague's buildings themselves function as the city's primary artistic canvas, preserving centuries of Bohemian cultural and artistic tradition.
While there are many interesting and historical sites within the city of Prague, it is the city itself that is perhaps the most artistic. The buildings of Prague are visual by nature, representing painting, sculpture, mosaic, glasswork, ironwork, and many architectural styles from centuries of artists and builders. Rather than paintings on canvas in museums, Prague's artistic styles lie often within the buildings themselves. From the churches to public and private buildings, the architecture of Prague is one which has withstood centuries (Meilach, 55).
Within this vast array of architectural style, one can easily see many influences that artists used to create their wonderful structures. One particular style stands out in buildings from before the fourteenth century through current-day structures: that of the art of Bohemia. The art styles of the Bohemian culture are prominent in many of the architectural greats within Prague (Robbins, 317). This paper discusses some of those sites and shows how Bohemian art styles have influenced those particular buildings.
During the mid-fourteenth century, the royalty of Europe began to foster ideas that the architecture of certain areas should not only represent the artistic styles of the era, but also those styles occurring within individual regions. As such, Bohemian painting quickly rose to the front of the artistic scene of Europe, and paintings within architecture quickly rose in popularity. Panel art prior to the Bohemian influence was characterized by softly modeled three-dimensional figures, generally consisting of bulky forms and a natural presentation. This style was typical of painters such as Master Bertram of Hamburg (Radocsay, 25).
Bohemian-style panel paintings were far different from these predecessors. The bulky figures of the French artists gave way to slight, slender representations of human figures, many of whom were religious in origin. Often shrouded in semi-darkness and mystical scenes, these representations were a hallmark of the Bohemian style and quickly made their way into the architectural design of Prague (Radocsay, 32).
Bohemian art styles of this period sought to find connections between phases of development. Combining naturalism and Byzantine icons into architecture, the city of Prague brought together some of the main strands of Bohemian culture within its structures (Kren, "Bohemia"). Panel paintings such as the Madonna of St. Vitus Cathedral show a distinct Bohemian influence. The image, contained within an ornate frame as a panel of the cathedral, is a full half-length representation of the Virgin holding her Child. While the figure — slender and slight — shows a distinctly Bohemian character, the manner in which Mary presents her Child is Roman. Further Bohemian representation can be found in the gentle posture of Mary and in the radiated light surrounding her Child (Marx, "The Madonna of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague").
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It is easy to see why Prague has become one of the most well-known cities, architecturally, in all of Europe. From the glasswork and panels of many structures, it is also clear that Bohemian art styles certainly played a part in the creation of many historical buildings. The workings of light against dark, color on color, and images of religious icons are among the best-known Bohemian-inspired works in all of Europe, and they clearly demonstrate the talents of those who shaped the city's architecture.
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