Prague Castle Picture Gallery

The beginnings of the collection date back to the reign of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, and Archduke of Austria. From 1583, when Rudolf II asked the Bohemian estates for a contribution to the beautification of Prague Castle, paintings and sculptures were purchased across Europe for this collection, and commissioned artworks were also created. At the same time, several halls were completed where the collection was exhibited. In 1612, when Rudolf II died, it comprised some 3,000 works.

During the subsequent Thirty Years' War, part of the paintings was taken to Vienna. A substantial part of the collection became the spoils of Swedish troops at the behest of Queen Christina, on the initiative of Jan Amos Komenský, who wanted to protect the treasures of the Bohemian kingdom from the Catholic Habsburgs. Over 500 artworks thus ended up in Swedish collections, where most of them remain to this day.

Because Prague Castle was to continue serving the Habsburgs as a representative residence, some paintings were brought back from Vienna, and additional paintings were purchased. The restored gallery then contained about 600 works by 1656 at the latest, and although it was then much smaller than the original collection, its artistic value was no less than that of the original or the Viennese collections. The Picture Gallery as such remained preserved until the reconstruction of Prague Castle during the reign of Maria Theresa; as a separate space, it was abolished in 1762. The paintings continued to serve only as decoration for the royal apartments. A large set of them was sold to Dresden, others were sold at auction.

After 1918, the newly formed Czechoslovak Republic demanded the return of the removed paintings from Austria. Although the Austrian side recognized this claim, it offered only inferior works for return, and thus no agreement was reached. Subsequently, the spaces of Prague Castle were decorated with paintings purchased from the so-called Masaryk National Fund, and some old collections were lent to the National Gallery. However, a separate picture gallery did not exist at the Castle. In 1961, another part of the paintings - with then "unsuitable" religious themes - was handed over to the State Institute for Monument Protection. This completed the fragmentation and reduction of the original collections.

However, the changing atmosphere in the 1960s positively contributed to the fact that, after long efforts, the reconstruction of the original stables under the Spanish Hall into a space for the new Prague Castle Picture Gallery took place in 1964–1965. Under the leadership of Professor Jaromír Neumann, by decision of the then president Antonín Novotný, the original intention of Emperor Rudolf II was revived. The Picture Gallery thus regained the opportunity to present its collections comprehensively and also became accessible to the public. Although compared to the Rudolfine era, the exhibition includes only a fraction of the items, the quality of the artworks adds to its significance.

After 1989, a new face for Prague Castle was sought. Previously closed spaces were opened to visitors, many things were reconstructed and changed. The effort to give the Castle a newer, modern look also led to the decision to transform the Picture Gallery. Between 1995 and 1998, all spaces underwent a fundamental technical reconstruction according to modern safety and air conditioning standards. According to Bořek Šípek's design, modifications to the exhibition spaces were made, a new entrance solution, and interior furnishings with seating furniture. It was also possible to purchase several paintings from Rudolf's original collection. The most significant pieces of historical and modern painting were selected for the permanent exhibition, and individual works were arranged according to their affiliation with local painting schools. Paintings by Rudolfine masters and works from the collections of Emperor Rudolf II also received their own space.

Eliška Fučíková, art historian and former colleague of Professor Neumann, who participated in the research of the history of Prague Castle collections, is the author of the latest exhibition concept for the Picture Gallery. The new Picture Gallery collection received international recognition in 2001 when it was exhibited as a whole in Maastricht.