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Image by Jana Kneschke
Proudly standing on the corner of Celetná and Ovocný trh, the House at the Black Madonna is a true home of Czech Cubism. It is worth seeing as this art period was, in Czech, strong and fruitful. “Sharp points, slicing planes, crystalline shapes. These are the trademarks of the Czech Cubists – a unique, avant-garde group, feverishly active in Prague between 1910 and 1914.”, says Modernista. There is a stable exhibition of the artwork of e. g. Otto Guttfreund, Emil Filla, Josef Čapek (brother of Karel Čapek, the writer) and Josef Gočár, of course, the author of this amazing building.
After the art-seeing, to revive your stamina, have a coffee or snack on the first floor, in the Grand Café Orient. You can choose from deserts and sandwiches, fresh juices and hot chocolate – and all will be served in design porcelain. Even the ashtrays and sugar bowl are cubist designs. And if you get trapped by the elegance of straight lines and edges, you can buy your own piece in the downstairs shop, Kubista. As the service sometimes takes its time, you have the time the admire the surroundings.
If you want to know more about Czech cubism, there’s an article about Czech cubism on the Spotted by Locals main website.
House at the Black Madonna | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Coffee and cake CZK 100
Ovocný trh 19
Gallery Tue – Sun 10:00 – 18:00 | Café Mon – Fri 09:00 – 22:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 22:00
I love this style! whoever visits Prague should definitely drink a coffee at the Grand Cafe Orient and visit the museum! In my opinion this Czech Cubism characterizes Prague more than say, the watch or the alchemists’ houses mostly because of its uniqueness!
What a great city!