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THE
CZECH ROUTE (Start
page)
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Leading project partner: Academy of Arts,
Architecture and Design, Prague; Ms Miroslava Krausová, Assistant
Professor/ Mr Pavel Kasparek, student Oriental textiles became known in the Czech Lands thanks to trade and the crusades of the Middle Ages. During the Renaissance period, the lifestyle of aristocracy and bourgeoisie was supported by imports from abroad and by the expansion of domestic textile crafts. Most craftspeople were involved in the clothing industry. The time of the Thirty Year War (1618-1648) was the first period when the nobility began to be interested in and support the development of local textile production, but crucial changes did not take place until the second half of the eighteenth century. At that time production which had previously been organised by guilds and within the cottage industry, was taken over by the first manufactories. In spite of the fact that manual work continued to predominate, the manufactories became centres where new technologies and experience from more developed countries could be applied. However, the real advance of the textile industry dates back to the 19th century. At that time large industrial complexes were built both in Bohemia and Moravia. These new complexes with their textile production were able to compete even with the most developed European countries including England and France. The most important products included woollen and cotton fabrics, printed textiles, but also completely new products that had no tradition in the Czech Lands, such as machine-knotted and hand-knotted carpets, quilts, upholstery fabrics and tapestries. In 1894 the first tapestry workshop was established in Vratislavice near Liberec, which realized numerous designs of outstanding European Art Nouveau artists (Mucha, Christiansen, Olbrich, Myrbach etc.) The character of two other tapestry workshops was somewhat different, but also very modern. These two workshops were founded at the beginning of the 20th century in Valasské Mezirici and Jindrichuv Hradec. The artistic profile of the two workshops, as well as the character of design in the Czech Republic in the second half of the 20th century were strongly influenced by teachers and graduates from the Textile Art Studio at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. Nowadays other universities and secondary schools also encompass textile art and design in their study programmes. These courses provide an opportunity to continue developing the aesthetic and artistic possibilities of this longstanding textile tradition, despite the current economic difficulties. Czech textile design, whose roots go back to the 19th and 20th century, together with art from Slovakia and Poland, established its own characteristic place within European textile art. All the stations of the Czech Route illustrate this phenomenon. The Academy of Art, Architecture and Design in Prague with its Textile Art Studio has had a great influence on Czech textile art and design both in tapestry weaving and lace making. Museums with applied art programmes located in traditional industrial textile regions continue their collecting and preservation efforts, as well as their educational art programmes, which support students of textile art and design, among others. Oldrich Palata/Pavel Kasparek Textile Contact Point (TCP) Vysoká skola umeleckoprumyslová Nam. Jana Palacha 80 CZ-11693 Praha 1 http://www.vsup.cz |
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 Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design, Prague  Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague  The Vamberk Lace Museum |
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