Prague Vedute of the 18th Century

Jiří Lukas, Miroslava Přikrylová

Prague Vedute of the 18th Century

From the introduction:

Over five hundred years, the vedute (city vistas) of Prague made of various printmaking techniques have been providing information about the view of the city as well as its urban and architectural development. They fall into the basic sources of historians, art historians, and architects. Not only are they the subject of scientific research, but they are also sought after by collectors and have the admiration of art lovers. The attempts for their scientific compilation have been emerging since the end of the 18th century. However, there are different degrees that compose the collections of vedute from different time periods. The reason behind is the fact that over the centuries, the number of printmaking techniques used for the views of the town and its parts has grown nearly geometrically which resulted in the growing difficulties to capture and elaborate them comprehensively. A detailed list of the vedute of Prague from the 16th and 17th centuries was published in 2002, which was grounded in collection of the City of Prague Museum, Prague City Archives, as well as the National Museum in Prague, National Gallery, and the Royal Canonry of Premonstratensians at Strahov (back then, a part was deposited in the Museum of Czech Literature/PNP) The presented list continues the previous one in many aspects, introducing the print views of the city in the 18th century both to the professional public and history lovers. Yet, the compilation of this list is rather different which is caused by the gradual change of the concept of a town veduta during that century.

Contents:

Introduction

Structure of the Entries in the Vedute Catalogue
List of Abbreviations

PICTURE PART:

I. Town
Overall views
Views of Town on Journeyman Certificates
Charles Bridge and its Sculptural Decoration
Prague and its Vicinity through the Eyes of F.B. Werner
Prague Religious and Secular Architecture

II. Events
The Birth of the Saint (St. John of Nepomuk)
Coronation of Charles VI
Occupation of Prague, 1741-1742
Coronation of Maria Theresa, 1743
Occupation of Prague, 1744
Siege of Prague, 1757
Flood, 1784
Coronation of Leopold II, 1791
Coronation of Francis II. 1792

CATALOGUE

Index of Artists
Subject Index
Bibliography

City of Prague Museum, Prague 2017, 255 x 340 mm, aprox. 470 pages., Czech and English, ISBN 978-80-87828-26-7