RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
A1 Řepková, Barbora
T1 Old Photographs and New Findings on the Façade of the House No. 784 The Blue Shoe in Wenceslas Square
Alte Fotos und neue Erkenntnisse zur Frontseite des Hauses Nr.-Konskr. 784 zum blauen Stiefel am Wenzelsplatz in Prag
JF Staletá Praha
YR 2024
VO 40
IS 1
SP 24
OP 44
DO 10.56112/sp.2024.1.02
UL https://staletapraha.cz/en/artkey/pha-202401-0002.php
AB The article revises the dating of the façade of house No. 784/II in Wenceslas Square in Prague-New Town on the base of historical photographs. They indicate that the façade 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 façade 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 façade 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.