Czech Cubism (referred to more generally as Cubo-Expressionism) was an

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

art movement An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a specific period of time, (usually a few months, years or decades) or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defin ...

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

proponents of

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

, active mostly in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

from 1912 to 1914. Prague was perhaps the most important center for Cubism outside Paris before the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

.Cooper, Philip. ''Cubism''. London: Phaidon, 1995, p. 102.

Members

Members of this movement realized the epochal significance of the cubism of

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

and

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...

and attempted to extract its components for their own work in all branches of artistic creativity:

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

applied arts The applied arts are all the arts that apply design and decoration to everyday and essentially practical objects in order to make them aesthetically pleasing."Applied art" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Art''. Online edition. Oxford Univers ...

and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

. The most notable participants in this movement were the painters

František Kupka František Kupka (23 September 1871 – 24 June 1957), also known as ''Frank Kupka'' or ''François Kupka,'' was a Czech painter and graphic artist. He was a pioneer and co-founder of the early phases of the abstract art movement and Orphic C ...

(whose interests were rooted more in abstraction),

Emil Filla Emil Filla (4 April 1882 – 7 October 1953), a Moravian painter, was a leader of the avant-garde in Prague between World War I and World War II and was an early Cubist painter. Early life Filla was born in Chropyně, Moravia, and spent his ch ...

Bohumil Kubišta Bohumil Kubišta (21 August 1884 in Vlčkovice, Bohemia – 27 November 1918 in Prague)Chilvers, Ian, and John Glaves-Smith. "Kubišta, Bohumil." in ''A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art''. Oxford University Press, 2009. Oxford Reference ...

Antonín Procházka Antonín Procházka may refer to: * Antonín Procházka (painter) (1882-1945), Czech painter * Antonín Procházka (volleyball) (born 1942), Czech former volleyball player * Antonín Procházka (actor) (born 1953), Czech actor, playwright and direct ...

, Vincenc Beneš, and

Josef Čapek Josef Čapek (; 23 March 1887 – April 1945) was a Czech artist who was best known as a painter, but who was also noted as a writer and a poet. He invented the word "robot", which was introduced into literature by his brother, Karel Čapek. ...

, the sculptor

Otto Gutfreund Otto Gutfreund (3 August 1889 – 2 June 1927) also written Oto Gutfreund, was a Czechoslovak sculptor. After studying art in Prague and Paris, he became known in the 1910s for his sculptures in a cubist style. After his service in the First World ...

, the writer

Karel Čapek Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright and critic. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel ''War with the Newts'' (1936) and play ''R.U.R.'' (''Rossum's Universal Ro ...

, and the architects

Pavel Janák Pavel Janák (12 March 1881 in Karlín – 1 August 1956 in Prague-Dejvice) was a Czech modernist architect, furniture designer, town planner, professor and theoretician. Life Janák studied with Otto Wagner in Vienna between 1906 and 1908, and ...

Josef Gočár Josef Gočár (13 March 1880 in Semín – 10 September 1945 in Jičín) was a Czech architect. It was one of the founders of modern architecture in Czech Republic. Life Josef Gočár received his early instruction at the State Technical School ...

Vlastislav Hofman Vlastislav Hofman (6 February 1884 – 28 August 1964) was an artist and architect who lived and worked first in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and later in Czechoslovakia. Though he was a painter, set designer, graphic artist, furniture designe ...

and

Josef Chochol Josef Chochol (13 December 1880, Písek – 6 July 1956, Prague) was a Czech architect. Education Chochol studied architecture at the polytechnic in Prague (1908–24), then at the academy in Vienna, under the guidance of Otto Wagner (1907� ...

. Many of these artists were members of the

Mánes Union of Fine Arts The Mánes Association of Fine Artists ( or ''S.V.U.''; commonly abbreviated as ''Manes'') was an artists' association and exhibition society founded in 1887 in Prague and named after painter Josef Mánes. The Manes was significant for its inte ...

. A major division in Czech architecture occurred after 1912 when many young avant-garde artists from Jan Kotĕra and his circle divorced themselves from the Mánes Association. These younger architects were more idealistic in their outlook and criticized the strict rationalism of their forebears,

Otto Wagner Otto Koloman Wagner (; 13 July 1841 – 11 April 1918) was an Austrian architect, furniture designer and urban planner. He was a leading member of the Vienna Secession movement of architecture, founded in 1897, and the broader Art Nouveau move ...

and Kotĕra. Janák, Gočár, and Hofman founded the group Skupina výtvarných umĕlců (Group of Plastic Artists) and established a journal for the group, Umĕlecký mĕsíčník (Artistic Monthly). After

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

's founding in 1918, architectural Czech Cubism gradually developed into Czech Rondocubism, which was more decorative, as it was influenced by traditional folk ornaments to celebrate the revival of Czech national independence. Kubistická lampa na Jugmanově náměstí

Concept

Czech Cubists distinguish their work through the construction of sharp points, slicing planes, and crystalline shapes in their art works. These angles allowed the Czech Cubists to incorporate their own trademark in the avant-garde art group of

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

. They believed that objects carried their own inner energy which could only be released by splitting the horizontal and vertical surfaces that restrain the conservative design and “ignore the needs of the human soul.” It was a way to revolt from the typical art scene in the early 1900s in Europe. This evolved into a new

, referred to generally as Cubo-Expressionism; combining the fragmentation of form seen in

with the emotionalism of

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

History

Czech Cubism developed between 1911 and 1914. It was a contemporary development of functionalism generated by architects and designers in Prague. Fifteen years later, the first concept of cubism itself was written off as a decorative purpose, a replacement of

secessionism Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics lea ...

and mistaken departure into ‘aestheticism’ and ‘individualism’. On the contrary, it was a revolt against traditional values of

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

. Czech Cubism was first conceal by the Modern Movement and masked by the aesthetic dictates of Stalinist and post-Stalinist culture in Czechoslovakia. After the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

of 1989 and the post modern attraction of ornamentation and decoration, there came to be a rise of fascination in

Czech culture Czech culture has been shaped by its geographical position in the middle of Europe. Influences from its neighbours, political and social changes, wars and times of peace have all left their marks on Czech culture. Prague's significance as a Europea ...

and its own unique forms of cubism. Czech Cubism developed paradoxically as both a product of Czech bourgeois affluence and as an avant-garde rejection of secessionist designers such as Otto Wagner and

Jan Kotěra Jan Kotěra (18 December 1871 – 17 April 1923) was a Czech architect, artist and interior designer, and one of the key figures of modern architecture in Bohemia. Biography Kotěra was born in Brno, the largest city in Moravia, to a Czech fathe ...

. Architects such as Josef Chochol and Pavel Janák devised spiritualist philosophies of design and a dynamic ideal of planar form derived from cubist art. As Cubism spread across the European continent in the early 20th century, its greatest impact can be seen today in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Pyramid and crystal forms were one of the signature principles seen in Czech Cubism which was incorporated in architecture, furniture, and applied arts.

Exhibitions

The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague (UPM) uses the

House of the Black Madonna The House of the Black Madonna (Czech: ''U Černé Matky Boží'') is a cubist building in the Old Town of Prague, Czech Republic. It was designed by Josef Gočár. The first floor houses a café, while the four upper floors are used by the Museum ...

as a permanent exhibition space for Czech Cubist art.

Gallery

Painting and sculpture

File:Bohumil-kubista-dvojnik-1911.jpg,

, 1911, ''Dvojnik'' File:Antonín Procházka - Prometheus 1911.jpg,

, 1911, ''Prometheus'' File:Bohumil Kubišta - Svatý Šebestián (1912).jpg,

, 1912, ''Saint Sebastian'',

National Gallery Prague The National Gallery Prague ( cz, Národní galerie Praha, NGP), formerly the National Gallery in Prague (), is a state-owned art gallery in Prague, which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic and presents masterpieces of Cze ...

File:Josef Čapek - Piják (1913).jpg,

, 1913, ''Piják'' File:AfricanKingCapek.jpg,

, 1920, ''African King'',

File:Otto Gutfreund (Cellista).jpg,

, 1912–13, ''Cellista'' (''Cello player''),

Museum Kampa Museum Kampa is a modern art gallery in Prague, Czech Republic, showing Central European, and in particular Czechs, Czech work. The pieces are from the private collection of Meda Mládková, Meda Mládek, wife of Jan V. Mládek. The museum opened ...

, Prague

Architecture

Praha Palác Diamant 1a.jpg, Diamant Palace by Emil Králíček (1912–1913) Prague_Diamant_JanNepomuk_Arch.jpg, Arch with baroque statue, next to the Diamant Palace Czech-03841 - Cubist Building (32865168462).jpg, Facades by

Otakar Novotný Otakar is a masculine Czech given name of Germanic origin (cf. Audovacar). Notable people with the name include: *Otakar Batlička (1895–1942), Czech adventurer, journalist, ham radio operator, member of Czech Nazi resistance group in World War ...

Neklanova Kubistický dům roh 1c.jpg, Cubist apartment building, Vyšehrad č. p. 98, by Josef Chochol (1913–1914) Lázně Bohdaneč - View NE on Pavilion Gočár - Cubist Architecture 1913.jpg, Thermal baths in Lázně Bohdaneč by Josef Gočár (1911–1913) Vyšehrad_Kovařovicova_vila_7.jpg, Kovařovicova villa by Chochol (1912–1913) Vyšehrad Libušina Kovařovicova vila 2.jpg, Kovařovicova villa, street side Vyšehrad Rašínovo nábřeží 2.jpg, Cubist building by Chochol Bauerova vila - Libodřice 3.JPG, Bauer Villa by Gočár (1912–1914) Betlémská kaple na Žižkově 3.jpg, Cubist chapel by Králíček (1913–1914)

References and sources

;References ;Sources
The Czech Cubism Foundation

*Von Vegesack, Alexander, ed. ''Czech Cubism: Architecture, Furniture, Decorative Arts.'' Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press, 1992.
Journal of Design History
*Toman, Jindrich. ''Czech Cubism and the Book: The Modern Czech Book.'' New York: Kant Publications, 2011.

External links

Official site of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague
{{authority control Cubism Modern art Czech art Art Nouveau