Regional art gallery Liberec - Baths

History of the gallery

The history of the Liberec Regional Gallery is linked with the foundation of the North Bohemian Museum, which on its opening in 1873 was the first museum of its kind in the Czech lands. The collection of largely regional fine art paintings of the North Bohemian Industrial Museum, as it was named from 1883, was enriched significantly in 1904 by the addition of over 200 works dedicated to the museum by Heinrich von Liebieg. Other important acquisitions were added in 1918 (Dr. Anton Randa’s collection of prints) and in 1927 (Ferdinand Bloch’s collection of drawing and painting). In 1946, the collection of paintings was placed in the former Neo-Renaissance villa of Johann Liebieg the younger, built between 1870 and 1872 in the immediate vicinity of the Liberec Chateau. This physical separation was confirmed legally in 1953. Since then the Regional Gallery in Liberec has undergone many administrative changes, the last of them being in 2001, when it became the only collection-creating gallery / art museum in the Liberec Region – in terms of the number of collection pieces, it is among the five largest galleries in the Czech Republic.  

 It excels among other institutions not only in its high-quality collection of 20th century Czech art, but also by in the overlap with other European art, for example 19th century Austrian and German paintings or the 19th century French landscape paintings: among others, it owns a unique collection of Eugène Boudin paintings, which is one of the largest collections outside France.

There are also European prints from the Renaissance to the 18th century represented in the gallery collections. In addition, there is an interesting and in some respects exceptional collection of the works of German-speaking artists from the Czech lands.

Despite undergoing several partial reconstructions, the building of the former Liebieg Palace that served the gallery for 67 long years has proven to be inadequate in certain respects.  With the successful completion of the project for the reconstruction and revitalization of the building of the former town Spa, the gallery managed to acquire a residence that conforms to strict European standards for the preservation and exhibition of art works, and where there will be many new services prepared for the visitors, including a library and a research room. The exclusive and also rather original exhibition space can be used occasionally for other cultural and social events, all in the generous space of four floors. The Regional Gallery in Liberec, with its new visual style, is becoming a modern institution for the 21st century!

Exhibition programme

The gallery will continue its rich exhibiting programme. Besides the themes the gallery has explored in the past - such as art connected with the Liberec region and the Euroregion Niesse, or the exhibition of old, early modern and contemporary art - we are also planning to include architecture, photography, new media and site-specific art in the future. For this reason, the NIKA Photo Gallery and the special space of Gallery SET have been created. We also intend to introduce periodically one foreign artist in a generous exhibition project. The gallery will put special emphasis on exhibitions introducing the art of Germans speaking artist of the first half of the 20th century in Bohemia. Our goal is to present various facets of art in a way that will be accessible to the general public.

PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS

On the wavelength of art

A didactically and chronologically conceived exhibition of the art of the Czech lands from the early Modern period to the present, this is an overview of works of painting and sculpture from the rich collection fund of the Regional Gallery in Liberec. The oldest exhibited work dates from around 1500. The Baroque is represented by small still-lifes, contrasting with the 19th century realistic and romantic landscape painting. The 20th century with its many “–isms” takes up the largest amount of space, and introduces irreplaceable masterpieces in the context of the time of their creation. The concept of the second half of the 20th century exhibition is based on significant dates in the political history of this country.  The names of significant artists and influential artistic styles are introduced in the context of historical development, and the most important moments in the development of the Czech fine arts are illustrated here.  At the same time, the exhibition reflects the composition of the gallery’s collections.  Art since 1945 is presented in the largest space. This exhibition is intended to show an overview of the development of the fine arts in the Czech lands, in terms of both the main artistic styles and contemporary anomalies.

REPRODUCTIONS:

Johann Caspar Hirschely, Landscape with a Skull, ‘Vanitas’, 1727

Johann Adalbert Angemayer, Still life with Birds and a Pocket Knife, 1st half of the 18th century

Wilhelm Riedel, Evening landscape with a Hunter, 1858

Antonín Slavíček, Stromovka Park, 1907

Bohumil Kubišta, The Kiss of Death, 1912

Alois Wachsman, From the Oedipus Cycle, 1934

Kamil Lhoták, Meet Fate, 1948

Zbyšek Sion, Apocalyptic Grasshopper 1964–1966

Vladislav Mirvald, Continual War, 1967

Věra Janoušková, Gesture, 1982

Květa Pacovská, Red Square, 1990

Heinrich von Liebieg, collector and patron

Heinrich von Liebieg (1839–1904) is of the second generation of well-known textile industrialists from Liberec. In addition to his participation in the management of the family firm, he was a dedicated art collector from his youth.  He drew on this hobby in his systematic work for the Liberec Museum, where he was engaged as an advisor, donor, purchaser and honorary curator. In his will of 1904, he bequeathed to his native town of Liberec and its institutions his collection of paintings, which was one of the best private collections in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and also many financial foundations, buildings and approximately 25,000 works of arts and crafts. The majority of the most precious 19th century paintings in the gallery’s collection originate from this bequest. These are paintings of Austrian, German and French provenance that have so far been introduced only within the national context. Now, for the first time, they will be exhibited as a whole and complemented by the works of arts and crafts which also originate from this bequest and that were lent by the North Bohemian Museum in Liberec. Conceptually, this exhibition is divided into six parts, introducing the collector and his collection in the light of lyrical Realism and Historism. 

REPRODUCTIONS:

Eugène Boudin, Deauville, Inner Port, 1886

Franz von Defregger, Head of a Girl, around 1889

Ernest Meissonier, Guard, 1857

Narcisse Virgilio Díaz de la Peña, Stormy Landscape, (1872)

August von Pettenkofen, Hungarian Market with Kitchenware, around 1874

Eugen Jettel, Moonlit Landscape with Windmills, 1884

Wilhelm Leibl, In the Studio, 1872

Dutch Golden Age Painting

The term Dutch painting includes the Northern provinces (today’s Netherlands) as well as the southern provinces (today’s Belgium, whose art is known as Flemish). The greatest benefit of this art is the flourishing of the kind of painting known in Italy as pittura minore, the lesser kind of painting. This term was used mostly for landscape, but sometimes also still-life and genre painting. These minor masters, as they are sometimes called, laid an exquisite foundation for realism worldwide. The Liberec collection was founded in the 1960s thanks to the Gallery’s Director, Hana Seiffertová. This is an interesting collection with a captivating atmosphere. It presents on the one hand examples of individual painting styles and genres, and on the other represents major centres of Dutch painting, such as the cities of Haarlem, Amsterdam, Antwerp and others.  Historical paintings are displayed in contrast with their modern paraphrase.

REPRODUCTIONS:

Jan Davidsz. de Heem, Still-life with Books and a Skull, 1629

Elias van den Broeck, Flowers in Forest Undergrowth, 1690-1705

Jan Jansz. van de Velde, Still-life with Goblets, Grapes and Walnuts, 1639

Wouter Knijff, Sea coast with Castle and Ships, 1645

Vincent Sellaer, The Holy Family with John the Baptist and Elizabeth and Zechariah

EDUCATIONAL CENTRE

The Educational centre in the Regional Gallery in Liberec offers schools, nurseries and the public programmes accompanying temporary and permanent exhibitions, as well as many educational and recreational activities. Workshops, artistic and hands-on activities for schools, nurseries and interest groups, lectures, art courses, etc., are aimed at everyone who has an interest in a deeper understanding of works of art. The services include a permanent interactive exhibition with the title ‘Stay in the Picture’, offering playful visitors, mainly children, the opportunity to spend their time in an active way.