It is well known that the city of Prague in the Czech Republic is home to some of the world’s most beautiful architecture. The landscape is covered with grand castles, Gothic churches, and Baroque buildings. But the city of one hundred spires is also home to a piece of Pablo Picasso’s legacy, one of the best-known representations of Cubist architecture, the House at the Black Madonna.
House at the Black Madonna.
For the layperson, Cubist art may be visually confusing. As one article from Khan Academy notes, “cubism is a terrible name,” because it really “has nothing to do with cubes,” and was only called so because of the comments of a single art critic. This highly geometric style pieces together different viewpoints of a three-dimensional subject and shows them simultaneously, resulting in an image that is often disjointed. Cubism was incredibly divergent from the perspective that was popular at the time and has had a significant influence on abstract art. It began in Paris in the early 1900s and although popularized by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, it quickly spread throughout Europe.
Statue of Madonna and her child.
After being introduced to Cubism, several Czech artists took this mindset home and applied it to multiple disciplines, including sculpture, furniture, and architecture. Among these artists was Josef Gočár, a young man from eastern Bohemia who had moved to Prague to attend the School of Applied Arts. He joined the Cubist Group of Visual Arts in 1911 and built the House at the Black Madonna, called one of the best examples of Cubist architecture still standing, shortly after.
Completed 1912, the original plans for the building were rejected for being too modern. The surrounding area in Prague’s Old Town is mostly built in the Baroque style, so the design was altered to incorporate some aspects which would allow the new construction to be seamlessly integrated into the environment. One of these elements was the statue of a Madonna and her child from which the building gets its name, as the statue is black with gold details. Despite these changes, it remains unmistakably Cubist. The exterior features angular bay windows. Iron wrought railings line the balconies and encase the statue. Ornamental geometric designs can be found on all surfaces of the structure.
Grand Café Orient.
The interior is just as grand and compelling. Although it has been remodeled several times, photographs of the original layout were used to ensure it retained its Cubist style. The Grand Café Orient inside displays furniture and iron chandeliers designed by Gočár along with a darkly stained oak counter. The elaborate staircase is a work of art by itself, and when viewed from the top, it spirals downwards into the shape of a lightbulb.
Staircase inside the House at the Black Madonna.
Although intended to be used as a wholesale department store, the House at the Black Madonna only served this purpose until 1922 before being taken over as office spaces. Today, the site is a national monument. The café on the first floor is once again operational after being closed for some time, and the Museum of the Decorative Arts in Prague uses several floors of the building for their permanent collection. They display Cubist paintings, sculptures, and furniture all created by Czech artists.
Josef Gočár went on to create more “masterpieces of Czech architecture” in several distinctive styles and is “one of the most important architects in the first half of the 20th century,” according to Radio Prague. Although his other Cubist designs were never realized, we can appreciate one that was.
Whether a fan of the art style or not, it must be admitted that this incredibly unique building is truly a wonder.
Written by Erin Schachtner