St Agnes of Bohemia Convent
The St Agnes’s convent, tucked in a corner of Staré Mesto and hard to find, is the first Gothic building complex of churches in Prague.
It was built in 13th century by Agnes, sister of King Wenceslas, and now houses a magnificent collection highlighting Bohemian and Central European Medieval art from 1200 to 1550. Prague, after all was the forefront of European artistic development during the reign of Charles IV ( 1346-78) and one of the greats of the end of the 14th century was the master of Trebon.
I am not allowed in with my backpack, it’s a Louis Vuitton but they don’t care, they are very protective over these breathtaking collection of Medieval masterpieces never seen anywhere else in the world. You can see the Master altarpiece featuring the ” Resurrection of Christ “, and his “Madonna of Roudnice. The Master Vyšší Brod altar, Master Theodoric, works of the Master of the Winkler Epitaph, A. Altdorfer, L. Cranach the Elder and many others all examples of the “beautiful style “that prevailed until the outbreak of the Hussite wars.
The sober and elegant set design of the exhibition is a contemporary masterpiece itself . It’s a combination of glass, suggestive halogen illumination invoking a theatrical sensation of drama, background wall finish in grey Anthracite and green Aquamarine variations of Venetian stuccos enhancing even more the impressive wood sculptures, altars and valuable paintings on wood .
Not to be missed, it’s a must!
Joelle’s Picks:
St. Agnes Convent (Kláster sv. Anezky Ceské) . U milosrdných 17 , Hradcany,Tues-Sun 10am-6pm , Tel : 224-810-628
The best shop for Medieval Art and Renaissance:
Les Enluminures , Le Louvre des Antiquaires
2,place du Palais- Rolyal
75001 Paris
tel: 33 01 42 60 15 58
Fax: 33 01 40 15 00 25
