CODARTfocus Prague

CODARTfocus Prague 14 May 2012
A scholarly visit to the National Gallery in Prague

From 9 February to 27 May 2012 the National Gallery in Prague presents the exhibition Rembrandt & Co.: stories told by a prosperous age to mark the publication of its illustrated summary catalogue Dutch Paintings of the 17th and 18th Centuries.

The new catalogue and exhibition are the perfect occasion to visit Prague and the exquisite collection of its National Gallery. CODART member Anja Ševčík of The National Gallery in Prague therefore took this opportunity to invite us to a CODARTfocus meeting.

We have added an optional program on Sunday 13 May and will visit the Prague Castle Gallery, thanks to a special invitation from Eliska Fucikova, and view the exhibition “Gods and mortals: works by the court artists of Emperor Rudolf II from private collections”. In this exhibition, curated by Eliska, she will show us four paintings from private collections. Two allegories, one by Hans von Aachen, one by Bartholomeus Spranger, unknown and never exhibited before, will be on display, as well as an unknown selfportrait of Hans von Aachen and a battle scene of Alexander the Great by Matthias Gundelach. This visit will give our group the unique possibility to see these works of art before they will disappear again in private houses.

Our second stop this afternoon will be the Lobkowicz Palace in Prague guided by the director Veronika Wolf. After this we are invited by the Royal Netherlands Embassy for drinks on the terrace of the Lobkowicz Palace.

On Monday, 14 May 2012 the museum opens its doors exclusively to CODART. The program includes a presentation of the collection catalogue, a tour of the exhibition Rembrandt & Co.: stories told by a prosperous age (with loans from the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Amsterdam Museum, Gemäldegalerie Berlin, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum Braunschweig, Szépmüvészeti Múzeum Budapest, Regional Gallery Liberec and the Lobkowicz Collection Prague), a lecture by Norbert Middelkoop, a lecture on the restoration of Frans Hals’s Portrait of Jaspar Schade, as well as the study of some ‘uncracked nuts’ from the storage rooms, under the guidance of Rudi Ekkart, director of the RKD, The Hague.

Program

For the full program click here.

Participants

Download the list of participants here.

Registration

CODARTfocus registration form
CODARTfocus registration form

Background information

More about the National Gallery in Prague and its collection of Dutch paintings
More about the exhibition in the Prague Castle Gallery
More about the Lobkowicz collection
More about the lecture by Norbert Middelkoop

Locations

On this map all the locations of the CODARTfocus are indicated.

CODARTfocus Prague on a larger map.

Sternberg Palace, where we will spend Monday 14 May, is a bit hidden from view. Take the street left of the entrance of the Archbishop’s Palace to walk to the Sternberg Palace. You can also see these locations with Google Street View here.

How to get there

CODART will not arrange flights or other means of travel for participants of the CODARTfocus. From the Netherlands you can fly with Easyjet from Amsterdam, Transavia from Rotterdam or Wizz Air from Eindhoven. For other options (often with one or two stops) you can check out websites such as www.cheaptickets.nl or www.skyscanner.nl, but booking directly with the airlines is often less expensive.

Hotels

CODART gives you four suggestions for hotels in Prague. You can book a room yourself directly at the hotel. Mention that you are part of the CODART and the National Gallery group when reserving a room. Participants pay the hotel costs themselves upon checkout. Exchange rates vary around 24/25 CZK for 1 Euro at this moment. Don’t wait too long with making a reservation, as May is a very busy month in Prague. Most options will be available for us until 12 April. Please check with the hotels if the offered prices still apply.

The Dorint Hotel Don Giovanni offers single rooms for € 80 per night. It is a very nice, chic hotel. From this hotel you can get to Prague Castle easily by metro (station in front of the hotel, 5 stops, then a nice walk or 3 stops with tram). Bookings via email: petra.solcanska@dorint.com

The 4-star Belvedere Hotel in Prague is closer to the Gallery than the Dorint Hotel but has no rooms available for Monday night; only the nights before 14 May. The single room costs 1300 CZK (Czech crown) per room per night and a double room is 1600 CZK per room per night. Bookings via email: belvedere@hhotels.cz

Hotel Extol is a cheaper possibility. They offer single rooms for 1050 CZK per night and double rooms for 1350 or 1645 CZK per night. Bookings via email: reservations@extolinn.cz

The Arthotel is closer to the Gallery and has rooms for € 80,- per night. Bookings via email: frontoffice@arthotel.cz

Suggestions?

As you can read in the program we will take the time to discuss some ‘uncracked nuts’ from the storage rooms of the National Gallery, led by Rudi Ekkart, director of the RKD, The Hague. If you have any suggestions for this item and wish to see a particular discussion piece from the storage rooms, please send your request to events@codart.nl.

Ferdinand Dorsman Grant

CODART has made available three Ferdinand Dorsman Grants for participants from Central or Eastern Europe to attend the CODARTfocus meeting in Prague. Each grant consists of € 75,- to cover the registration fee. Applications with motivation via events@codart.nl.