Collection of paintings and sculptures

The collection of paintings, now numbering over 1500 items, includes works from the first half of the 14th century to the present. Among the most valuable are a series of Gothic panels, including the unique Strahov Madonna, associated with the court art of Emperor Charles IV, as well as several remarkable Mannerist paintings originally in the collections of Emperor Rudolf II, a diverse collection of 17th-century Flemish painting, and a rich section of Central European Baroque painting. In addition to traditional religious motifs, the collection also has a substantial representation of still life, landscape, and genre painting. Besides paintings, the department of art collections maintains a small collection of sculptures, containing over one hundred items.

View of the original installation of the Strahov Picture Gallery from the period after 1910.

Characteristics of the Collection of Paintings and Sculptures

A part of the original painting collection was first cataloged after 1836 in the so-called Main Catalog, containing descriptions of items and occasionally mentions of their older provenances. In the 1920s, Strahov monk Cyril Měcháček created a new card catalog, which mostly includes detailed records of all the paintings then present at Strahov. After the restitution in the 1990s, a new basic catalog was created, which is now converted into electronic form. In 2023, an image digitization of the painting collection was carried out.

While the painting collection was relatively well-documented before the closure of the monastery in 1950, the sculptures did not receive as much attention. The sculptures were concentrated in a collection depot with sculptures from other dissolved monasteries during the closure, and their previous locations were not clearly marked. As a result, most sculptures did not return after the restitution post-1990, as Strahov was unable to conclusively prove ownership rights before 1950. Both sub-collections are registered in the CES (Central Register of Collections of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic).

The collection of paintings and sculptures was digitized in 2003, and this database is continuously updated.

Photogallery

View of the original installation of the Strahov Picture Gallery, after 1910.

Summer refectory of the Strahov Monastery with an accessible depository of paintings of the Society of Patriotic Friends of Art (today's National Gallery, circa 1930).

Prague painter of the 2nd quarter of the 18th century, Interior with a Picture Collection (detail), oil, canvas; inventory no. O 396.

František Preiss (1660–1712), Model of the Main Altar from the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Premonstratensian Monastery in Doksany (detail), Prague, before 1703, wood, polychromed and chalked; inventory no. P 13.

Lucas Cranach (copy from after 1550), Lamentation of Christ (detail), oil, wood; inventory no. O 594.

Frans Francken II. - imitator, Virgin Mary with Baby Jesus and Musical Angels (detail), 2nd quarter of the 17th century, oil on copper; inventory no. O 1474.

Jan Seitz (Prague 1738–1816 Prague), Nike with a Bouquet and Birds I. (detail), oil on copper; inventory no. O 600.

Ignác Raab (1715 Nechranice - 1787 Velehrad), St. Bartholomew, oil on canvas; inventory no. O 278.