Description
The underpaintings or paintings on the back of glass in the collection of historical glass of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague represent a very diverse collection of 387 objects from the late antiquity to the 19th century. There are outstanding works of art from most of the major European centres of underpainting production, especially from Venice, Tyrol, Lombardy, Nuremberg, Zurich, Naples and Augsburg. The most valuable Renaissance paintings are represented by the work of Hans Jakob Sprüngli and Master VBL, the Baroque period by Gerhard Janssen or a valuable set of works from the Kunštát workshop of Daniel and Ignaz Preissler. So far, expert attention has been paid mainly to the so-called folk sub-paintings, but this book focuses on works from the court and bourgeois milieu, which preceded the human production and which often held a representative place in the collections of nobles and emperors. In addition to the characteristics of the collection, the book also presents its history and research into the art of underpainting on glass. It is complemented by a chapter devoted to the restoration of this unique art by the leading glass restorer Eva Rydlová. The catalogue of the works contains, in addition to passport data and citations of existing specialist literature, references to the models and sources of inspiration for individual paintings on glass.