Since the collapse of the Iron Curtain in 1991, Prague has become one of Europe's--and the world's--most popular tourist destinations. As in London, Paris, and Rome, visitors flock to the gorgeous buildings and monuments that grace the streets of Prague, entranced by structures ranging from Gothic and baroque to cubist and neoclassical. And while hundreds of thousands stroll over the Charles Bridge and gaze up at the St. Vitus Cathedral each year, far fewer venture away from the crowds to seek out the countless gems of art nouveau peppered throughout Prague.

With "Art-Nouveau Prague," Petr Wittlich--one of Europe's leading experts on nineteenth- and twentieth-century architecture--tours those monuments and buildings of Prague representative of the art nouveau movement and offers insightful commentary on each. Along the way, Wittlich visits such sites as the Municipal House, the Wilson Railway Station, the Grand Hotel Europa, and works by sculptors Frantisek Bilek, Ladislav Saloun, and Stanislav Sucharda.

An introductory essay by Wittlich emphasizing the role of art nouveau within contemporary currents of modern European art accompanies more than one hundred color illustrations of some of the most stunning examples of art nouveau architecture and decoration in existence, and a detailed bibliography provides additional reading for each of the sites displayed in the book. "Art-Nouveau Prague" is a must-have for those traveling to Prague for the first time or for anyone who appreciates or wants to learn more about art nouveau style.

Dealing with not only specific artists in the context of their national identity, but also with overarching themes in the rise of modernism, "Czech Modern Painters" is an articulate and well-researched overview of modern art styles from the former Czechoslovakia, focusing on impressionism, art nouveau, and cubism. This study covers three generations of artists who changed the landscape of traditional art at the turn of the twentieth century, and looks specifically at how these artists pushed the boundaries of and came into conflict with the work of their predecessors. To do so, Petr Wittlich has combed through each artist's work in art school, galleries, and new art journals, while tracking each individual's own personal style. The result is a beautifully illustrated book that carefully explains the aesthetic theory of each movement and provides biographical information on the leading personalities of the period and brief, incisive captions for each reproduction. Wittlich also investigates the profound influence of capitalism, and the way in which these artists departed from the prevailing aesthetic tastes of their contemporaries. "Czech Modern Painters" has the magisterial quality of a textbook for students of modern art styles while maintaining readability, making it appealing to art lovers and historians alike.

The English version of the major book from Petr Wittlich, which charts the crisis and development of Czech monumental sculpture at the turn of the 19th/20th century and explores the new decorative style associated with the movement known as Secession or Art Nouveau. The author presents and defines the individual and common features of the work of F. Bilek, S. Suchard, L. Saloun, Q. Kocian, J. Maratka, B. Kafka and J. Stursa. The author focuses on their creative, as well as individual contributions, and he also appreciates their common tendency towards being human, i.e. humans placed within the universal myth of his origins and mission. The book is abundantly illustrated and is designed for the general reader as well as the specialist.