The exhibition will present the Rothmayer villa in photographs

Prague - Photographs of the Prague Rothmayer Villa, a well-known modernist monument, are being exhibited starting today at the recently established Norbertov Study and Documentation Center. It is located near the famous Müller Villa in Střešovice and aims to familiarize the public with modern architecture and lifestyle. Photographer Martin Polák has documented the Rothmayer Villa since 2014, when it came under the management of the Museum of the Capital City of Prague.

By the end of 2016, he had taken several series of photographs capturing the transformation of the residential house into an installed monument. The exhibition will offer a selection of these photographs.

The Prague Museum at the Rothmayer Villa has prepared an exhibition titled The Story of One House and One Family. It commemorates the distinctive style of Otto Rothmayer and aims to evoke the atmosphere of the living, working, and artistic environment that Rothmayer created together with his wife, textile artist and promoter of modern lifestyle Božena Rothmayerová.

Rothmayer (1892 to 1966) belongs to the generation of architects from the first half of the 20th century. His life and work are closely linked to the personality of the renowned Slovenian architect Josip Plečnik, with whom he collaborated, particularly on modifications to Prague Castle. Concurrently, Rothmayer also designed for private clients, primarily in Prague.

He is the author of three family villas, several monuments, and also collaborated on Plečnik's Vinohrady Church. The Mediterranean tradition that Plečnik conveyed in Czech territory is reflected in the architectural form of Rothmayer's own villa from 1928 and 1929. The ascetic appearance of the villa is limited to basic shapes of a block and a cylinder, which conceals the staircase.

The Rothmayer family lived in the villa until 2008. At that time, the architect's son sold the villa to the city of Prague under the condition of its reconstruction and accessibility.