| National Gallery opens new exhibition in Kinsky Palace |
| Tuesday, 15 March 2011 07:57 |
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Celebrations for its 215th anniversary are being commenced by the National Gallery, the second oldest European institution of its kind after the Louvre in Paris, by opening an exhibition showcasing the art of the ancient world in Kinský Palace on the Old Town Square. Take a stroll through Egypt and Nubia in the Nile Valley, ancient Greece and Rome, visit the Near East and set out for destinations as far afield as China, Tibet and Japan! New presentation of the Ancient World The art of the oldest cultures in the world, which has so far been lacking in the offer of permanent exhibitions in Prague, is presented starting from 4 February 2011 in a new permanent exhibition in Kinský Palace. Apart from the National Gallery in Prague, the National Museum and experts from the Charles University also participated in this prestigious cultural project. You will meet the great global cultures of the Ancient World in the new exhibition, i.e. Europe, North Africa and Asia, which were already accessible to Europeans before discovery of the New World at the end of the 15th century. The extensive collection of unique works by classical artists, Egyptian coffins and cuneiform tablets, amphorae, ceramics, glass, bronze items and statuettes does however lead you much further into the past and introduces you to seven thousand years of development of the art of the ancient cultures. We won’t only be staying in Europe … …but also having a look further to the east. Thirteen rooms on the first floor are devoted to Asian art. The pride of place in the collections of the National Gallery in Prague is presented to you in the very first room - a collection of ancient Chinese art. You can for example view ritual disks and plaques from nephrite, bronze ceremonial vessels, daggers, mirrors and bells or a collection of Chinese grave art ranging from simple figures from unglazed clay, right through to large, glazed and decorated statues of animals, ghostlike beings and people. In the other rooms, you will get to know the wealth of tradition of Chinese sculpture or Buddhist art of the Tibetan region. It is above all the exceptional collection of hanging pictures with Mandala themes that deserve your attention here. In the section with decorative art from Southeast Asia, it is above all the art of lacquer and metal, porcelain as well as Japanese and Chinese ceramics, which were imported to Europe from as far back as the 16th century, that are presented to you. The permanent exhibition of ancient art is complemented with an exhibition of Korean art containing items borrowed from the National Museum of Korea in Seoul. Do you like interactive programmes? Then a visit to Kinský Palace should not end for you with a mere viewing of the permanent exhibitions. You can head for the second floor, where visitors of all ages can enter the studio to create their own works of art. You will find varied art supplies here, exhibition catalogues for on-site reading and ORIENTational worksheets or templates. Have a go at creating some fragile paper origami, learn how to tie symmetric and asymmetric knots in oriental carpets or see just how laborious putting on a quite normal kimono is! The studio also houses tactile exhibitions of Japanese sculptures and Korean ceramics. You will find a shop with publications about the history of art in the rear wing on the ground floor of Kinský Palace. |
| Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 March 2011 08:00 |
