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Art

In general, the Czech art is known worldwide for its individually made, mouth blown and decorated art glass and crystal, garnet and other gems jewelry, decorative and applied art. The very beginning of art in the area of Czechia represents the finding of 17 cm tall statue of a woman made from the ash, clay and bone dust, approximately 30,000 years old. It is called the "Vestonice Venus" (Věstonická Venuše), after the place where the statue was found, South Moravian village Dolní Věstonice. The development of art conjoined with the Czech state started in Romanesque period. The oldest preserved and simultaneously most artistically important work of that time are murals in St. Catherine’s rotunda in Znojmo from 1134, exceptional in Romanesque art throughout Europe by focusing on the ideology of the state.

Painting and sculpture

Madonna of Roudnice, c.1385-1390

In romanesque and gothic period was very popular decorative painting of manuscripts. The most exquisite work, which had not comparison in the then Central Europe, is the Vyšehrad Codex. In the gothic era, panel paintings was flourishing. The most important are works of Master of Vyšší Brod, the founder of style, which dominated European painting around 1400. Another important personalities were Master of the Litoměřice Altarpiece, Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece and Master Theodoric of Prague, the court painter of Charles IV, who filled the ruler's chapel of Holy Cross in Karlštejn castle by 130 paintings. Renaissance art came to Czechia with delay because of consequencies of Hussite wars in the country and influenced much more architecture, than other art. At the turn of 16th and 17th century, during the reign of the emperor Rudolph II, they came to Prague Italian, Dutch and German artists (Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Bartholomeus Spranger, Hans von Aachen, Adrian de Vries etc.). Rudolph II is considered the patron of Northern Mannerist art.

One of the best known Czech painters and decorative artists was Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939) mainly known for art nouveau posters and his cycle of 20 large canvases named the Slav Epic, which depicts the history of Czechs and other Slavs. As of 2012, the Slav Epic can be seen in Veletržní Palace of National Gallery in Prague, which manages the largest collection of art in Czechia.

Other notable Czech artists include:

• Max Švabinský (1873–1962) – painter, illustrator, abstract art
• Emil Filla (1882–1953) – painter, cubism
• Josef Čapek (1887–1945) – painter, cubism
• Bohumil Kubišta (1884–1918) – painter, cubism
• Václav Špála (1885–1945) – painter, cubism
• František Kupka (1871–1954) – painter, abstract art
• Jan Zrzavý (1890–1977) – painter, graphic artist, illustrator
• Karel Teige (1900–1951) – painter, illustrator, surrealism
• Toyen (1902–1980) – painter, illustrator, surrealism
• Jiří Anderle (1936) – graphic artist

Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter (1896) by Art Nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha

Film

Main article: Cinema of the Czech Republic

The tradition of Czech cinematography started in the second half of 1890s. Peaks of the production in the era of silent movies represent historical drama "The Builder of the Temple", social drama "Erotikon" directed by Gustav Machatý . Early sound film era of Czech film was very productive, above all in mainstream genres with special role of comedies by Martin Frič or Karel Lamač, however more internationally successful were drammatic movies, above all famous romantic drama film "Ecstasy" by Gustav Machatý, and romantic "The River" by Josef Rovenský.

American poster of Karel Zeman's film :A Deadly Invention"

After the repressive period of Nazi occupation of the country and early communist official dramaturgy of socialist realism in movies at the turn of 1940s and 1950s with a few exceptions such a "Krakatit" by Otakar Vávra or "Men without wings" by František Čáp (awarded by Palme d'Or of the Cannes Film Festival in 1946), new era of the Czech film begun by outstanding animated films by important filmmakers such as Karel Zeman, a pioneer with special effects (culminating in successful films such as artistically exceptional "Vynález zkázy" (A Deadly Invention), performed in anglophone countries under the name "The Fabulous World of Jules Verne" from 1958, which combined acted drama with animation, and Jiří Trnka, the founder of the modern puppet film . Another Czech cultural phenomenon came into being at the end of the 1950s. This project called Laterna magika (The Magic Lantern) was the brainchild of renowned film and theater director Alfred Radok, resulting in productions that combined theater, dance and film in a poetic manner, considered the first multimedia art project in international context.

In 1960s, so called Czech New Wave (also Czechoslovak New Wave) received international acclaim. It is linked with names of Miloš Forman, Věra Chytilová, Jiří Menzel, Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos, Evald Schorm, Vojtěch Jasný, Ivan Passer, Jan Schmidt, Juraj Herz, Jaroslav Papoušek, etc. The hallmark of the films of this movement were long, often improvised dialogues, black and absurd humor and the occupation of non-actors. Directors are trying to preserve natural atmosphere wthout refinement and artificial arrangement of scenes. The unique personality of 1960s and the beginning of 1970s with original manuscript, deep psychological impact and extraordinarily high quality art is the director František Vláčil. His films Marketa Lazarová, Údolí včel ("The Valley of The Bees") or Adelheid belong to the srtistic peaks of Czech cinema production. The film "Marketa Lazarová" was voted the all-time best Czech movie in a prestigious 1998 poll of Czech film critics and publicists. Another internationally well-known author is Jan Švankmajer (in the beginning of the career conjoined with above mentioned project "Laterna Magika"), a filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media. He is a self-labeled surrealist known for his animations and features, which have greatly influenced many artists worldwide.

Films The Shop on Main Street (1965), Closely Watched Trains (1967) and Kolya (1996) won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film while six others earned a nomination: Loves of a Blonde (1966), The Fireman's Ball (1968), My Sweet Little Village (1986), The Elementary School (1991), Divided We Fall (2000) and Želary (2003). The Czech Lion is the highest award for Czech film achievement.

The Barrandov Studios in Prague are the largest film studios in country and one of the largest in Europe with many many popular film locations in the country. Filmmakers have come to Prague to shoot scenery no longer found in Berlin, Paris and Vienna. The city of Karlovy Vary was used as a location for the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale.

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe’s leading film event. It is also one of few film festivals have been given competitive status by the FIAPF. Other film festivals held in the country include Febiofest, Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, One World Film Festival, Zlín Film Festival and Fresh Film Festival.