I'm not entirely sure whether Rondo Cubism is a specific genre or just what art deco was called in Czechoslovakia. In any case, instances of it are found only here, mostly in Prague. In a previous post, we have already seen the Cubist House of the Black Madonna (resto and bar), and, it turns out, also the Palac Adria. The World War I facade I ended the last post with turns out to be Rondo Cubist, and its building, the Palac Archa, perhaps its most famous instance. The building was closed when I photographed the possible caryatids and telamons, but yesterday, as we were walking to and through New Town to the Dancing House, we boldly wandered into the Palac Archa and had one of the more memorable art/architectural experiences ever. Truly stunning...
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The caryatids and telamons, sort of, and scenes from WWI on the
Palac Archa; then Czechoslovakia (?) would have been fighting
on the Austria-Hungary side, mostly on the Russian and Italian
fronts, presumably; though the Czechs were on the losing side, they
were really the winners, since the demise of the Hapsburgs meant
the independence and freedom of a new Czechoslovakia; until the
Germans marched in in 1938... |
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| Full frontal of Palac Archa, built in 1923 |
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| Interior entrance |
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| Elevator |
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| Reception area |
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| Entrance to the bank |
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| In the bank hall; avoiding pix of individual banking-type personnes |
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| Among the decorative bits |
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| Rondo Cubist planter |
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| Teller |
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| Cafe in the arcade |
1 comment:
What an interesting place.
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