The art museums in Prague hold some great works of art that you need to see during your trip. Why listen to my recommendations? I am an artist and I’ve been living in the Czech Republic for 10 months now. In this article, I am sharing with you the must-see art museums in Prague.
My Must-see Art Museums in Prague
Let me list the museums first for you
- Lobkowicz Palace
- Prague’s National Gallery
- Alphonse Mucha Museum
- Klementinum Library
Read next: 6 Art Museums in Florence: The masterpieces you need to
Lobkowicz Palace in Prague Castle
I am starting with the Lubkowicz Palace because it holds a collection of artifacts that tell the most about Czech history.
The Palace entry ticket comes with an audio-guide that helps you explore Bohemian and European history through the Lobkowicz family and their collections—one of Europe’s oldest and finest private art collections, comprised of items dating back over 2,000 years. The collection highlights include paintings by Bruegel the Elder, Canaletto, and Velázquez and hand-annotated manuscripts by Mozart and Beethoven.
P.S: The audio guide is narrated in English by two generations of the Lobkowicz family and the collections’ curators (also available in 10 other languages). The additional Prague InSpires Panorama audiotour introduces visitors to the city’s most iconic landmarks in under 30 minutes from the Lobkowicz Palace balcony.
Prague’s National Gallery
My favorite museum in Prague is the national gallery (not to be confused with the national museum). With origins dating back to the 18th century, it is one of the oldest, largest, and most respected art museums in Central Europe. What makes this gallery unique is that its collections are spread out in various Baroque palaces, Medieval convents, and castles all around Prague. So, it is not one building but many different building. You can check out the official website for more details on the different buildings, opening hours, and ticket prices.
The National Gallery is particularly well-known for its wide collection of modern artists such as Picasso, Rousseau, Monet, and Cézanne. the National Gallery has an extensive collection of works by great Czech artists.
One of the most recognizable works in the National Gallery’s collection is Vincent van Gogh’s Green Field (1889). This is one of many landscape paintings Van Gogh produced while recovering at a mental asylum in Provence and it shows the painter at the height of his creative powers.
Alphonse Mucha Museum
A not-so-popular museum, but if you are an art enthusiast, you definitely know the iconic master of Art Nouveau Alphonse Mucha. However, you may not know that he was actually Czech because he mostly lived in Paris during the Art Nouveau period. Mucha produced illustrations, advertisements, decorative panels, and designs, which became among the best-known images of the period. For that, I think the museum deserves a visit.
At the age of 57, Mucha returned to his homeland and devoted himself to a series of twenty monumental symbolist canvases known as The Slav Epic, depicting the history of the Slavic people. On the 10th anniversary of the independence of Czechoslovakia, he presented the series to the Czech nation. He considered The Slav Epic his most important work.
Klementinum Library
Not really an art museum but the Clementinum is Prague’s second-largest building complex after Prague Castle and houses the most beautiful library in the world. Among the 27,000 old printed works, there are, for example, Kepler’s writings with his handwritten dedication to his friends, the dean, and other professors at the Prague university. The Jesuits founded the Clementinum in 1556 and named it after the former Dominican monastery of St. Clement from 1227, where they settled. In 1775, meteorological data began to be collected here regularly; thus Prague has the longest continuous series of meteorological observations in Europe.
Conclusion
Prague is a gorgeous city that holds a significant number of museums and historical attractions. If I were to pick only one art museum to see in Prague, I’d visit The National Gallery, as it is the richest, widest and most interesting art collection in Prague. However, make sure to, once in your lifetime, go inside Lobkowicz Palace in Prague Castle and discover the artworks it holds. Enjoy creating <3
