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Cubismwas
a 20th centuryavant-gardeart
movement,
pioneered by Pablo
Picasso and
Georges Braque,
that revolutionized
Europeanpaintingand sculpture, and
inspired related
movements in
music and
literature. The first
branch of cubism,
known asAnalytic
Cubism, was both
radical and
influential as a
short but highly significant art movement between 1908 and
1911 in France. In its second phase, Synthetic Cubism
, the
movement spread and remained vital until around 1919, when
the Surrealist movement gained popularity.
Englishart historian Douglas Cooper describes three phases of
Cubism in his seminal bookThe Cubist Epoch. According to
Cooper there wasEarly Cubism, (from 1906-1908) during
which time the movement was initially developed in the
studios of Picasso and Braque; the second phase being called
High Cubism, (from 1909 to 1914) during which time Juan
Gris emerged as an important exponent; and finally Cooper
referred toLate Cubism (from 1914 to 1921) as the last phase
of Cubism as a radical avant-garde movement.[1]
Josef Chochol (December 13, 1880, Psek- July 6,
1956, Prague
) was a Czech architect.
Chocol studied architecture at the polytechnic in Prague (1908-
24), then at the academy in Vienna, under guidance ofOtto
Wagner(1907-09). He was one of three significant Cubist
architects, together with Pavel Jankand Josef Gor; all three
were members of the Mnes Union of Fine Arts.
Three buildings he designed (1913) in Vyehrad (part of
Prague) are considered masterworks of cubist architecture. In
1914 he abandoned the Cubist style and began working in the
internationally oriented constructivist style. Most of his other
designs (cubist factory, theater) were admired but never
realized.
Chochol was also active in politics: he was a founding member
of the Left Front organisation and the Association of Socialist
Architects, and was the only one of the Czech Cubists with
strong political views.
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C 2329 HISTORY OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE ( SEJARAH SENIBINA MODEN) 2009
Hodek ApartmentsCubist house in Vyehrad, Prague, Czech Republic
The change from the academic national style that prevailed in
Prague at the turn of the century to the modern style of the
1930's happen in several stages and passed through several
uniquely Czech periods of architectural development. The
"Purists" of the early 1920's experimented with a plain,
undecorated style with elementary forms, simple windows, and
traces of classicism. Czech "Cubism", a name adopted by a
group of young Czech painters acquainted with the cubism of
Picasso and Braque, experimented with their own designs (that
had little to do with the analytical cubism of Picasso and
Braque) of rhythmical grids, points on a fractured surface and
jagged forms. Pavel Jank, a Prague architect who had contact
with these ideas, started applying "Pyramidal cubism",
decorative applications of slanted facets, folds and fractures to
his building facades. The best example of Czech Cubism is this
little apartment building by Josef Chocol, built just before
WWI.
Hodek was built at the edge of an older quarter of Prague and
20th century districts to the south. Located at an acute corner
on a sloping site, this modest block of small flats exhibits some
of the detail qualities of the late "Cubist" style. The geometric
faceted spandrels and cornice, some of the angular details at
the door and ground floor windows, and the otherwise plain
undecorated character of the exterior walls are all typical cubist
details. The overall classical disposition of the facades on both
streets is overlaid with a clear structural grid. The recessed
porches at the corner suggest a spatial dimension to the cubistpalette. A small shop occupies the corner at the ground floor.
There are four tiny one and two room flats at each floor
grouped around a rear stair and service zone along the entrance
hall.
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Czech Cubism was a curiosity more that it was a full-blown
architectural style. It was very short-lived, lasting only about 5
years, but occupied an important position between Secessionist
and Functionalist values and occurs at the same time as other
similar European groups such as Wendingen, Futurism and
German Expressionism. While there was some expectation that
Cubism would lead to a new style, Karel Teige referred to it as
"nothing but a romantic architectural utopia" As an example of
housing, it remains a curious introduction to, and perhaps a
necessary transitional movement, to the Functionalist era that
followed after WWI.
Hodek Apartments
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House of the BlackMadonna
House of the Black Madonna
TheHouse of the BlackMadonna
is a cubist building in the"Old Town" area ofPrague, Czech republic. It was designed by
Josef Gor. It is currently in use as a small museum of
Cubism and is open to the public.
The House of the Black Madonna (U Cerne Matky Bozi),
sometimes referred to as Black Mother of the Lord, was
designed and built between 1911 and 1912 on the corner of
Celetna Street and Ovocny trh. Josef Gocar built this house as
the first example of cubist architecture in Prague and it remains
probably the most celebrated. Even without historical details of
the Baroque building surrounding it, the House at the Black
Madonna maintains the atmosphere of the neighborhood. The
house was given its name by the stone sculpture that originally
adorned one of the two Baroque buildings on the same lot.
After many years altered use in the interwar period and under
communist rule, the house was closed in January 2002 and re-
opened after extensive restoration in November 2003.
Gocar designed this house in mid-1911 at the age of 31 for the
wholesale merchant Frantisek Josef Herbst. Mr. Herbst chose
Gocar to build his department store in Old Town along the old
coronation route because of the architects earlier success with
a similar shop in Jaromer (sp) build in 1909-1911. Because of
this prominent position within the heart of the city, Gocars
building was subject to strict harmonization rules that
demanded the department store not conflict with its historical
setting. It uses the language of baroque architecture in the
cubist forms which exemplifies the contextualization of
cubist architecture.
Gocars first plans were not well received by Lubos Jeabek
who oversaw the historical-buildings authority in Bohemia.
Subsequent designs incorporated more cubist features into the
building; the Prague City Council eventually approved the
plans on August 4th, 1911. In fact, his early modernist
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