Czech art

• 1325–1349 Velislai biblia picta (Velislav's Bible) illustration on parchment – is the richest pictorial book of the Czech Middle Ages and includes illustrations of the Old Testament, Revelation of Saint John and the legends of the life of St. Wenceslaus and St. Ludmila. However it was not completed.

• 1385–1390 The Madonna of Roudnice is a work by the Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece.

• 1510–1520 Wall painting of Saint George at Švihov Castle.

The National Revival, which had its roots in the last decades of the 18th century, led to a blossoming in the Czech visual arts that reached its apogee in the latter half of the 19th century.[3] The artists of the period contributed to the decoration of the National Theatre, which became a focal point of artistic expression of the nation. One of the artists involved was Mikoláš Aleš who decorated the foyer along with František Ženíšek. Aleš is widely regarded within the Czech Republic as one of its greatest artists.

Other artists of the national revival included Aleš's colleagues at the Mánes Union of Fine Arts, artists at the Association of Moravian Artists such as Antoš Frolka and Alois Kalvoda, and Max Švabinský.

The most important artist of this period is Alphonse Mucha. The work he is most known for is his commercial art from the 1890s which he created in Paris. However, he considered his masterpiece to be the Slav Epic, a visual exploration of the history of the Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe.

The Mánes Union of Fine Arts was an important institution in the last decade of the 19th century and lasted until its suppression by the Communists. It was founded in 1887 in Prague and fostered links between Czech artists with the international arts scene. It would later become associated with the Czech Cubist movement.

Max Švabinský (1873–1962) is one of the most notable artists from the period and his work spans many styles. His early work touched upon the genres of Realism and Symbolism. He designed windows for St Vitus Cathedral in Prague. He was widely regarded during his own lifetime and he was one of the few artists who was accepted by the Communist regime and was often commissioned by the government for official portraits. However, he was not a particularly political individual.[5]

Josef Čapek, Portrait of a King (1920). An example of Czech Cubism.

An important movement of Czech art in the 20th century was Cubism, the most creative period being 1910–1919.[4] Whilst there were visual artists who worked in the style, Czech Cubism is often mostly associated with architecture, so much so that the art historian Miroslav Lamac commented "Prague became the city of cubism".[6] Bohumil Kubišta is an important artist associated with the movement and his work displays many French influences such as the brushwork of Paul Cézanne as well as the obvious influence of Pablo Picasso. František Kupka is probably the most internationally recognised Czech artist from the period and his work continued to evolve past Cubism, eventually establishing himself as an early pioneer of abstract art.

Gesture by David Černý. The artwork is facing the Prague Castle, residence of the President

A notable incidence of the contemporary Czech art scene was the work unveiled to commemorate the Czech presidency of the EU in 2009, Entropa by David Černý. The work explores European integration by presenting national stereotypes associated with each member state of the EU, some of which offended many viewers of the work.[7]