In Prague, an exhibition has been prepared to commemorate the anniversary of architect Jan Blažej Santini Aichel

Prague – The National Technical Museum (NTM) in Prague has prepared an exhibition on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the death of architect Jan Blažej Santini Aichel. The exhibition titled Santini and the World of His Architecture will be open to the public from Thursday until January 5, 2025. The exhibition is linked to the conference Santini 2023, which will present the complexity of the work of the exceptional Baroque architect with the participation of ten leading Czech heritage experts. Today, the organizers of the exhibition Santini and the World of His Architecture presented it to journalists.

"The exhibition is linked to the event of the National Heritage Institute, namely tomorrow's conference, which will take place at the Prague Crossroads – St. Anne's Church. Of course, it will be presented there, and on Friday, December 8, conference participants will have the opportunity to join guided tours of the exhibition dedicated to Santini at the National Technical Museum," said Karel Ksandr, General Director of the National Technical Museum, to ČTK. "The collaboration between the National Technical Museum and the National Heritage Institute will continue next year, during which we will provide discounts on entrance fees," he added.

The National Technical Museum will open the exhibition Santini and the World of His Architecture on the 300th anniversary of the architect's death, whose notable works include the pilgrimage church of St. John of Nepomuk on Green Mountain near Žďár nad Sázavou, which is an important UNESCO World Heritage site.

The exhibition highlights the global significance of the leading Czech Baroque architect, who has long been overlooked. The exhibition will gradually display original plans of his buildings lent from the Melk, Zwettl, Rajhrad monasteries and from the Moravian Gallery. This includes, for example, drawings of the entrance façade of the church of St. John of Nepomuk on Green Mountain near Žďár nad Sázavou from 1719, lent by the Moravian Gallery in Brno, and the design of the side façade of the monastery church in Kladruby from around 1711, which is stored in the Benedictine monastery in Melk. Visitors will also see models and photographs of Santini's buildings.

The exhibition does not aim to tell a cohesive story of Santini's life and work, but offers thematic stations that provide clues on how to understand Santini's architecture. Interested parties will learn about the sources of Santini's ideas, how he was able to adapt his visions to the conditions of contemporary construction, or what his working method might have been.

"We were not aiming for a Santini revolution. However, we are trying to complement the awareness of Santini with several new perspectives that may surprise many visitors," said one of the exhibition's authors, Richard Biegel.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a comprehensive publication titled Santini and the World of His Architecture, which NTM will publish in collaboration with the Karolinum publishing house in 2024.