The Magic of Prague: Czech Art & Culture

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Forthcoming Arts Society Chiswick lecture

The Magic of Prague: Czech art and culture is the forthcoming
Arts Society Chiswick lecture on Thursday 10 October and will be given by speaker Gavin Plumley.

Looking at painter and decorative artist Alfons Mucha, artist Karel Svoboda and composers Bedřich Smetana and Antonín Dvořák, this talk shows how the Czechs created a capital that was fit for a new independent nation.

As part of the Habsburg Empire, Prague was beloved of kings and princes. During the 19th century, however, the Czechs sought to reclaim the city for their own.

Looking back at ancient mythology, they imagined a new future by means of art, architecture, literature and music. From Romanticism to cubism, the Czechs re-conceived various artistic movements in specifically patriotic ways.

Gavin Plumley is a writer and broadcaster, appearing on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and contributing to The Independent on Sunday and The Guardian. He lectures widely on the culture of Central Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries, including to the National Gallery, the British Museum, the V&A, the Southbank Centre, the Tate and the Neue Galerie, New York, as well as for Art Societies and The Art Fund.

All lectures are held in the Malinova Room, Police Centre, Kig Street, Hammersmith. Lectures start at 8 pm, bar opens 7 pm.

Lectures start at 8pm. Bar opens at 7pm.

Non members are welcome. Tickets are £10 on the door.

 

October 5, 2019