PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Šámal, Petr
TI  - Josef Mánes and the architectural decor of Prague in the 19th centuryJosef Mánes und der Architekturdekor Prags im 19. Jahrhundert
DP  - 2022 Jun 15
TA  - Staletá Praha
PG  - 2--27
VI  - 38
IP  - 1
AID - 10.56112/sp.2022.1.01
IS  - 02316056
AB  - In the second half of the 19th century, Prague and its suburbs became the scene of a massive boom of the nascent civil society, technical and economic growth, culture and art, and also, depending on the huge building development of European cities, the rise of architecture and construction of the historicism era, followed by Art Nouveau and modernism. To a large extent, typical rich architectural decor became an inherent part of public and private building designs of that period. This design was greatly influenced by the painter Josef Mánes (1820-1871), who stimulated also many other branches of Czech fine art of that time. The study examines specific works by Mánes, their significance and influence within this field a few years before the enormous flowering of Prague architectural decor, and depicts its beginnings within the historicism period. Known facts are analysed in new contexts and many hitherto unnoticed or neglected Mánes commission works are negotiated reviewing their visual aspect and purpose. Some of them became the first implementations of their kind not only in Bohemia, but also in the subalpine regions. Mánes's activities in the field of architectural decor were greatly inspired by his friendship and collaboration with the architect and builder Ignác Vojtěch Ullmann (1822-1897).