ŠTERNBERG PALACE AND NATIONAL GALLERY

The Count Šternberg Palace (Šternberský palác), accessible via an alley slightly set back from the castle square, is a magnificent Baroque building (1698-1720), with facades overlooking the courtyard, decorated with stucco. The building, built by an Italian architect, houses one of the six exhibitions in the rich collection of the National Gallery of Prague dedicated to art from the 16th to the 18th century. It gathers a very large collection of paintings by the great European masters in which the Italian and Flemish schools are particularly well represented.

Ground floor. It is entirely devoted to Austrian and German art, the collection exhibits works by Lucas Cranach, Hans Holbein, Hans Grien, Hans Grien, and Albrecht Dürer, whose famous Virgin of the Feast of the Rosary acquired in 1606 by Emperor Rudolf II. Linger in this part of the collection, which is very representative of schools that are not well known or present in French museums.

^1st floor. Passing through rooms dedicated to ancient art, it is mainly lovers of Italian painting who will love this part of the exhibition. Art on the other side of the Alps is represented by Bartolomeo Veneto, Agnolo Bronzino and his famous portrait of Eleanor of Toledo, as well as Lorenzo Monaco. The exhibition focuses mainly on the early Italian period from the 14th to the 16th centuries.

^2nd floor. You can find here the greats of French, Dutch, Italian and Spanish art between the 17th and 18th centuries: Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt and Hals on one side, Jusepe de Ribera and Goya on the other. One of the most remarkable pieces: the very expressive Face of Christ by El Greco. The German and Italian Renaissance are particularly well represented there with paintings acquired, very often, by the rulers themselves during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and admirably preserved. Don't miss to admire the room where some Rubens are exhibited, including the Martyrdom of Saint-Thomas and Saint-Augustin.

While browsing through this immense page of culture, also take the time to detail the beautiful decorations, Hungarian stitch floors and mouldings on the walls and ceilings of the various rooms of the palace, which alone would already be worth a visit. This building is one of the most representative of Bohemian Baroque, and one of the most impressive achievements.