Museum of Czech Cubism

Lonely Planet review

Though dating from 1912, Josef Gočár's House of the Black Madonna (dům U černé Matky Boží) - Prague's first and finest example of Cubist architecture - still looks modern and dynamic. It now houses three floors of Czech Cubist paintings and sculpture, as well as furniture, ceramics and glassware in Cubist designs.

The exhibition begins on the 2nd floor with paintings by leading exponents, including Emil Filla and Bohumil Kubišta. Filla's Writer (1912) and Reader (1913) are among the highlights. Also here are bronze sculptures by Otto Gutfreund, ceramic coffee sets and vases by Pavel Janák and furniture designed by Josef Gočár. The gigantic sofa he created in 1913 for the actor Otto Boleška is hard to miss. More painters are represented on the 3rd floor, including the prolific Josef Čapek, Vincenc Beneš and Otakar Kubin. Vąlav Špála's Song of Spring (1915) and Pavel Janák's angular armchairs, desk and bookcase (1912-13) are also eye-catching creations. The 4th floor shows temporary exhibitions and on the 1st floor is the recently reopened Grand Café Orient, the interior fittings of which were also designed by the talented Mr Gočár.