The Ministry of Culture wants to buy the cubist Bauer Villa
Prague - The Ministry of Culture plans to purchase Bauer Villa in Libodřice in Kolín with a collection of cubist objects. The Czech Cubism Foundation is asking for 28 million crowns for the only cubist villa in the Czech countryside, and an additional 30 million for the cubist furniture, ceramics, and metal applied art objects inside. This was reported today by Lidové noviny (LN).
The two-story villa in Libodřice was built between 1912 and 1913 according to a design by Josef Gočár for the wealthy farmer Adolf Bauer. The house is constructed in the cubist style down to details such as the faucets with the sink. The collection of items within is also unique. "The collection as a whole is an extraordinary cultural value, which would otherwise face the risk of possible dispersal. Court experts and other invited specialists in early modern applied art have unanimously confirmed its uniqueness and significance for state collections," stated the Ministry of Culture.
The collection of cubist artifacts was offered to the state by Pavel Šafář, the founder of the Czech Cubism Foundation, back in 2016, with experts valuing it at 30 million crowns, according to LN. The Ministry of Culture needs the consent of the Chamber of Deputies for the transfer of funds between different chapters of the state budget for the purchase. According to the ministry's plan, part of the objects will remain in the villa, part will be transferred to the Museum of Decorative Arts, and others will be allocated for foreign loans.
The villa was confiscated as Jewish property during the Protectorate, and the Bauer family perished during the Holocaust. After World War II, the estate and the villa reverted to the state, which handed the building over to the municipality. The villa has been heritage-protected since 1958, but Libodřice did not have the funds for renovation. The building was repaired only after it was purchased by the Czech Cubism Foundation from the municipality in 2002.
Cubism is the only architectural movement that originated in the Czech lands. A domestic specificity is also cubist design, which falls within the period from 1910 to 1925.
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The two-story villa in Libodřice was built between 1912 and 1913 according to a design by Josef Gočár for the wealthy farmer Adolf Bauer. The house is constructed in the cubist style down to details such as the faucets with the sink. The collection of items within is also unique. "The collection as a whole is an extraordinary cultural value, which would otherwise face the risk of possible dispersal. Court experts and other invited specialists in early modern applied art have unanimously confirmed its uniqueness and significance for state collections," stated the Ministry of Culture.
The collection of cubist artifacts was offered to the state by Pavel Šafář, the founder of the Czech Cubism Foundation, back in 2016, with experts valuing it at 30 million crowns, according to LN. The Ministry of Culture needs the consent of the Chamber of Deputies for the transfer of funds between different chapters of the state budget for the purchase. According to the ministry's plan, part of the objects will remain in the villa, part will be transferred to the Museum of Decorative Arts, and others will be allocated for foreign loans.
The villa was confiscated as Jewish property during the Protectorate, and the Bauer family perished during the Holocaust. After World War II, the estate and the villa reverted to the state, which handed the building over to the municipality. The villa has been heritage-protected since 1958, but Libodřice did not have the funds for renovation. The building was repaired only after it was purchased by the Czech Cubism Foundation from the municipality in 2002.
Cubism is the only architectural movement that originated in the Czech lands. A domestic specificity is also cubist design, which falls within the period from 1910 to 1925.
More information >
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15.07.21 09:42
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