History
Its history dates back to the 18th century (exactly February 5, 1796 ), when a group of prominent representatives of Bohemia patriotic aristocracy and Enlightened middle-class intellectuals decided to elevate what they called "debased artistic taste" of the local population. It houses the National Gallery's collection of modern art. The institution, which received the title Society of Patriotic Friends of the Arts established the Academy of Fine Arts and the Picture Gallery. In 1918 the Picture Gallery became a central collection of newly formed Czechoslovakia. In 1995 a new gallery dedicated to modern art opened in the refurbished Veletržní Palác (Trade-fair Palace).
Read more about this topic: National Gallery In Prague
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Let us not underrate the value of a fact; it will one day flower in a truth. It is astonishing how few facts of importance are added in a century to the natural history of any animal. The natural history of man himself is still being gradually written.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The reverence for the Scriptures is an element of civilization, for thus has the history of the world been preserved, and is preserved.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The history is always the same the product is always different and the history interests more than the product. More, that is, more. Yes. But if the product was not different the history which is the same would not be more interesting.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)