PT Journal
AU Repkova, B
TI Old Photographs and New Findings on the Facade of the House No. 784 The Blue Shoe in Wenceslas SquareAlte Fotos und neue Erkenntnisse zur Frontseite des Hauses Nr.-Konskr. 784 zum blauen Stiefel am Wenzelsplatz in Prag
SO Staleta Praha
PY 2024
BP 24
EP 44
VL 40
IS 1
DI 10.56112/sp.2024.1.02
WP https://staletapraha.cz/en/artkey/pha-202401-0002.php
DE Prague-New Town - House No. 784 The Blue Shoe - Wenceslas Square - late Baroque architecture - Neoclassicism - photographs - building history survey - segmental gable - Louise XIV style - Josef Zika
SN 02316056
AB The article revises the dating of the facade of house No. 784/II in Wenceslas Square in Prague-New Town on the base of historical photographs. They indicate that the facade was not designed when the house was converted into a hotel between 1911 and 1912, but that it belongs to an earlier period. In the author's opinion, the archival sources and the style of the facade are most consistent with the fundamental reconstruction of the entire building in the 1780s. The author also points out that the modern, complicated and, above all, poorly documented building development of the house has meant that the facade in its original, possibly late Baroque form has only been preserved in the above-mentioned photographs, and its current state is a mere degraded echo. The aim of the text is primarily to highlight the need to review the dating and heritage value of this particular building, but is also an example of the extraordinary importance that photographic documentation can have in the service of art history and conservation.
ER