The Veletržní Palace is a building in northern Prague which is used by the Czech National Gallery for a permanent exhibition of modern art. It was first built between 1925 and 1928 to host trade fairs, a strategy used by the new Czechoslovak government to build a commercial center for the new country (the word veletržní actually means “trade fair”). The first trade fair was held in 1920, and it soon became apparent that additional space would be needed. Plans were made to build three large commercial palaces, but only one was actually completed. The palace was built in a new style known as Functionalism, the first building in Prague to receive this treatment. If one were asked to describe the building in a single word, “palace”, as in a residence for royalty, might not be the first word that jumps to mind. Personally, I would think more in terms of “office building” (purists might complain that this is two words, but in, say, German, this would be Bürogebäude; so there). The building is very spacious, and was in fact the largest of its type in the world at the time it was built.

The building served its original purpose until 1948, though there was a break during the war when the occupying Nazis used it as a gathering point for Jews awaiting deportation to concentration camps. After the war, the building was used as an administration building until 1974, when it caught fire and was catastrophically burned up. Thought was given to demolishing it, but it was eventually decided that it should be preserved, being gifted to the National Gallery for rebuilding as an art gallery. The rebuilding was a long process, with the reopening of the building not taking place until the end of 1995.

The Veletržní Palace’s first art exhibition happened when it first opened, in 1928, with the debut of Alphons Mucha’s Slav Epic (which would make a return visit from 2012-2016). But the museum’s permanent collection consists of Czech and international modern art (“modern” extending mainly from the late 19th to the early 20th Centuries). The 19th Century art mostly seems to be French, beginning with Romantic Era works:


Any museum exhibiting art from this time period would have to display some examples of French Impressionism, and the Veletržní Palace is no exception:



Ditto for Post-Impressionism:




And shortly after the turn of the century, artistic experimentation became rampant and more international, with several new movements and sub-movements being born (Expressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, etc.). Here’s some of what the Palace has to offer:





Pablo Picasso was a one-man experimentation machine during this period, and the Veletržní has a number of his works on display, such as these:



Czech artists and artists from Germany and Austria eventually got involved in things, making the region a center of Expressionism:





Here are some works produced in the new Czechoslovakia, between the wars:



And here are some of the later works to be found in the museum, from shortly before and shortly after World War II:




By this time, the day had been a pretty full one, and we were ready to return to our hotel. Also, we had things to do. Like packing – this was our last full day in Prague, and we needed to prepare for travelling to our next destination. It would be time to take our leave of Prague and to move on to our next port of call: the land of lingonberries and herring, the home of meatballs and do-it-yourself furniture – glorious Sweden, and its capital, Stockholm.