Prague Castle Picture Gallery
At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, Emperor Rudolf II Habsburg, a passionate collector and great patron of the arts, assembled in Prague the richest art collection in Europe, whose reputation spread beyond the Czech borders. Unfortunately, the Thirty Years' War dispersed this immense collection forever. What remains of it, although subsequently enriched by Rudolph's successors, is a pale reflection of what it was at the time.
The Prague Castle Picture Gallery, located in a wing of the first courtyard, does, however, contain some fine works, even if the ensemble is not first-rate and the presentation a little sad. In particular, you'll be able to appreciate a few Mannerist paintings by painters from Rudolph's court (Hans van Aachen, Bartholomeus Spranger), an interesting collection of 16th-century Flemish painters and, above all, Italian works, notably from the Venetian school: a beautiful Jeune femme à sa toilette by Titian, a dramatic Passion of the Christ by Tintoretto, a portrait of the Antiquary Jakob König by Veronese, a youthful painting by Rubens...
Above all, you'll be left to dream, with a certain nostalgia, of what was once the mythical collection of Emperor Rudolph...