The Norbertov Center will be showcasing Prague's modern architecture

Prague - An exhibition of photographs by Jan Rothmayer, son of the well-known interwar architect Otto Rothmayer, will inaugurate the operation of the Norbertov Study and Documentation Center. It is located near the famous Müller Villa in the Old Střešovice district. Its main mission will be to promote modern Prague interwar and post-war architecture, housing culture, applied arts, and lifestyle, represented in both objects in different ways.

While the Müller Villa is, primarily due to its interiors and the figure of architect Adolf Loos, a part of the golden collection of European modern architecture, the Rothmayer Villa, much more modest in architectural expression, is not as well known.

The Norbertov Center will open today, and the exhibition Jan Rothmayer - Photography will be accessible from October 27. One of the main reasons for establishing the center was the storage and presentation of the extensive inheritance of the Rothmayer family, which Jan Rothmayer sold to the city of Prague in 2007 along with the family villa located in U Páté baterie street in Břevnov. A condition of the sale was the commitment to make the villa accessible to the public as a reminder of Jan's parents - architect Otto Rothmayer and textile artist Božena Rothmayerová. Prague also manages the Loos Villa.

On the ground floor of the building, there is an exhibition space, where themes and personalities related to both villas will be presented. The center includes a depository for storing objects from both villas that are not on display, an archive with documentation on the reconstruction of both buildings, results of research on the work of Adolf Loos in the Czech lands, and a specialized library. On the upper floor, there is a research room for studying archival materials and professional literature.

The exhibition maps part of the photographic legacy of the Rothmayers, specifically photographs taken by Jan Rothmayer between 1956 and 1960. Selected photographs reveal the personality of the occasional photographer, who, influenced by Josef Sudek, was enchanted by the beauty of nature and ordinary things. The creation of the photographs resulted from their joint trips to the surroundings of Prague and to central and northern Bohemia.