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From Municipal Gallery to Vysočina County Gallery
The conditions for the establishment of a municipal gallery in Jihlava can be traced back to the turn of the 20th century when the city was presented with the gift of a collection of paintings. With the presentation of art exhibitions in provisional spaces, the need for the establishment of a gallery became increasingly necessary from the beginning of the 20th century. The first steps towards the foundation of a gallery in Jihlava were taken by the curatorium of the Jihlava Municipal Museum in 1926. Regardless of many attempts, the gallery was not founded.
The recurring question of the foundation of a gallery was not again the subject of discussion until 1946. After several urgent moves on the behalf of tlen residents the tlen administration attempted to acquire an adequate space which is now to be found in building no. 14 Masaryk Square. Another incentive, which led to the establishment of a municipal gallery, was a gift offered by Mrs. Marie Kovaříková-a collection of 79 works of art, representing an unintentionally created collection of Czech painters from the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. Mrs. Kovaříková was granted honorable citizenship of the town of Jihlava for her gift. The municipal gallery, whose opening was celebrated on October 24th 1948, was affiliated with the Municipal Museum Administration. The buildings located at no. 57 and no. 58 Masaryk Square were later renovated from 1950-53 to more adequately facilitate both institutions.
The creation of a network of Czech state galleries beran in the early 1950' s. The motivation for this took on the renovation of more adequate spaces in buildings no. 57 and no. 58 of Masaryk Square by the Ministry of Education, Science and Art Directive from 1952 concerning county galleries. As a result of this title the municipal gallery and opened to the public on May 10th , 1953 in newly renovated spaces. The gallery acquired the official title Vysočina County Gallery which it carried until the year 1960. The first gallery director named was Arnošt Kába, who was simultaneously the director of the Highland County Museum.
In August 1954 sculptress Věra Doupníková was named gallery director and within a very brief period, by October 1 st 1954, had gained gallery independence and separation for the Vysočina County Gallery from the museum. From the beginning, the new directress attempted to establish a solid foundation for the independent oragnization and creation of a professional work place. In her activities she consulted with the employees of the Prague National Gallery. She systematically began to establish a specialized library and from the year 1955 she work towards the acquisition of the building no. 24 on Masaryk Square and no. 44 in Čajkovského Street in Jihlava for gallery purposes. She contracted a large scale conceived project to join both buildings. Unfortunately for gallery this project was never realized.
For state galleries that had a poor budget for acquisitions and were unable to put together a more complete permanent exhibition of work from the 20th century, the Ministry of Education, Science and Art made an extraordinary purchase of art works. The Jihlava gallery was granted, from this purchase, 934 works between the years 1957-1988. Similarly between the years 1960-63 the Prague Mational Gallery transferred 457 works to Jihlava from its collection. The Vyso čina County Gallery collection from its very beginning was characterized as a collection of the 19th and 20 th century. In addition to works by paintersand sculptures of regional significance, works by artists of national prestige were purchased. The perspective of the development of gallery activities in its own building became a reality in 1959 with the renovation of the building located at no. 10 Komenského street into a tenement house. For its artistic valuethe building was eventually acquired by the gallery.
From 1958-1963 the gallery underwent a series of changes. The County Social Studies Institute was formed through the merger of a county museum, county gallery and the landmark and monument administration with the environmental protection agency in 1958. Because of this gallery lost its character of an independent organization. Another change occurred on June 1st 1960, when, due to a property reorganization, the city of Jihlava became the gallery' s administrator. The gallery was managed by the city for three years and from 1963 was managed by the South Moravian County People's Comittee in Brno. Through these continual changes the gallery lost its position as a county gallery and took on the character of a regional gallery with limited activities in three counties. At this time it also acquired the title of Regional Vysočina Gallery. After seven years as head of the gallery, in 1961, director Věra Doupníková resigned resigned from her position and the painter Valdemar Radil was appointed in her place resigning after three years from his position . At this point the historian Ctimír Linhart was named new director and shortly afterwards, the reconstruction is finished on the building in Komenského street. The movement of the permanent collection to its own building marked the end of the gallery' s provisional era The builing was presented to the public on November 29th, 1964 with an opening exhibition and a new permanent exhibition.
In the second half of the 60's the Jihlava gallery figured among the many groups og galleries in Czech, that in addition to regional themes were dedicated to the systematic monitoring of the development of Czech contemporary art. A series of noteworthy exhibitions took place at the gallery. Among them the exhibition Phases stood out, prepared in collaboration with French poet Eduard Jaguer. The presentation of international artists came to a close in 1970 with a selection from the international drawing competation for the Joana Miró-VIII. award Premio International Dibuix Joan Miró from Bracelona. The regime's strong influence in the country during the 1970's and 1980's was apparent in the presentation of a number of symptomatic exhibitions.
Art historian PhDr. Jiří Hyliš stood at the head of the gallery at the end of the 20th century (1988-2003). Of the gallery's original exhibition projects the Concretists Club deserves particular attention-created to commemorate the 30 year anniversary of an exhibition bearing the same title. The gallery at the same time establish a collaboration with the Austrian Cultural Institute in Prague and prepared a nimber of notable exhibitions od Austrian artists. In cooperation with the local association of artists, the gallery organized four annual international painting symposiums at Čeřínek, not far from Jihlava. In 1989 after long term reconstruction the second gallery building no. 24 Masaryk square was opened to the public with a permanent exhibition of Czech art of the 19th and 20th centuries chosem from the gallery's permanent collection.
In 2003 Mgr., MgA. Kateřina Pažoutová was named director of the gallery. During 50 years of activity the gallry has acquired over 6000 items. The specialized library which focuses on artistic- historical literature boasts over 3400 items. In addition to that the gallery also ownsan extensive collection of exibition catalogues and Czech periodicals dealing with visual art. An integral part of the specialized work is the creation of photo-archive and gallery archive.
The Vysočina reginonal Gallery in \jihlava is concerned with collecting, and is a scientific, cultural, enlightening organization which is methodically bz the Vysočina County Council.The focus of its activities is the estabilishment of collection of Czech and International visual a rt of the 19 th, 20th and today also the 21 th century.
History of gallery locations
Buildings located at no. 10 Komenského street and no. 24 Masaryk Square
Tehe building Located at no. 10 Komenského Street
The chapter describing the history if the cibstruction and ownership of the building in which the gallery is located since 1964 is divided into four parts, where the renaissance building and its construction renovations from the 19th and 20th century are describedin more detail.
The building we see today came into being when two original Renaissance buildings were joined in the year 1864. From an art historical perspective the left building, the entrance, most likely dating back to the 14th century, is particulary unique. The oldest meditioned owners are listed from the beginning of the 15th century. The building was owned by Geschls, a prominent Jihlavian family, from the 1480´s until the beginning of the 17th century. The buildings appearance in the 16th century remained for the most part the same until the 19th century. The Renaissance likeness is characteristic for the entire width of the plot with a spacious lower entrance cross vault. From here one can go through into the courtyard, entering the cellar and the upper floor landing. Of particular interest is the cellar´s rear double naved vaulted section from the second half of the 16th century.
The most remarkable part of the building is presented in the third wintg where a square stair landing stretches from the first floor past the secont floor to just below the roof. The outside part of the hall was a low skylight tower topped by a tent roof. Teh upper lightning used in middle class buildings of the time, as was teh case in the building located at no. 10 Komenského street, seems to have been inspired by the method of lightning use at the crossing of two naves in sacred constructions. The high ceilinged hall, illuminated by the daylight, creates a communication joint between the first and second floor. It connected the kitchen with the open fire to the building´s heting system. It simultaneously served as a gathering and ceremonial space as the ceiling paintings indicate. The width is vvaluated with an eight part monastery arch, on which there are paintings of eight angels.
The second floor is dominated by a four axied arcade and most likely isn’t an expression of Italian Renaissance but a reflection of the northern interpretation and correspondes rather to Romanesque Renaissance. This is evident in several constructions found in Czech dating to the first half of the 16th century. Based on the tretment of the arcade columns and preserved Gothic Renaissance fragments of the first and second floor portals, the reconstrucion of the building can be dated to the period after 1551 when the street was destroyed by a fire.
Most likely, still in the second half of the 16th century, the building was annexed with a one-floor wing construction with an arcade gallery in the coutyard. About the appearance ot the arcade nothing more is known, for they were removed in the 1930’s without the aquisition of fundamental documentation.
The most significant construciton modifications took place from the second half of the 19th century until the mid-20th century. The buildings were joined, the cellars were reconstructed, storefronts were put in the entrance spaces of the building ant storage spaces in the rear wings. The building was renovated in to the tenement house, an extra floor was added and new rooves were buildwhich swalloved a skylit top over the high ceilinged all.
The building Located at no. 24 Masaryk Square
The chapter concerning the second gallery, building is dealt with in six parts and covers its construction developement and ownership from the 15th century to the present day. The building is located in the lower section if what is today Masaryk Square. The oldest written document concerning the building dates back to the 1425- 1426, when owners are mentioned in the town books. It can be assumed that the building stood in this place much earlier. Given the damage from several fires and reconstruction in the following centuries, the original likeness ant the extent of the Gothic construction is impossible to identify. It is certait that the building belong to the small buildings making up Jihlava square. The late gothic portal on the ground floor of the backyard wing together with the entrance portal are only stone remnants of the Gothic building era.
At the end of the 16th century radical rebuilding changes were made to the Gothic house into a three-wing-house with transverse orientation. The ground floor is an example of an extended Renaissance type with a double aisled entrance hall, a passenger way to the courtyard, and partially embedded chamber situated on one side. In the entrance into lower hall there is a plate with a house registration number ant the builder’s signature, Bast Steindel, 1591. this year considered to be the date when changes were made to the building. A staircase to the cellar and mezanine was located in the central wing. A high ceilinged landing with overhead lightning dominated the first and second floor of the central wing, with a built-in staircase and kitchen with an open fire. Of particular art historical significance is the unique stucco mirrored arch which is most likely the oldest in the area of Jihlava. The architecture of this ceiling was later surpassed by the stucco decoration in building no.4 Jihlava Square. The only more complex stone detail found in the building are the mascarons in the entrance hall of the 16th century. Although the names of several masons and builders have survived that were active at the the given time, it is impossible to credit any of them. Distinct structural changes occured in the building at the turn of late Baroque and early Classicism. At this time a na facade and a third floor were added to the building. Most likely there were changes made in the orientation of the houses landing into the street.
The building underwent another marked renovation, whose plans were drawn up by the Jihlavian building master Mathias Plott, in 1845. The adaptation on the tenement house wasundertaken in the spirit of late Classicism. The most radical changes can be observer in the high deilinged hall which lost its representative character. The facade maintained ots old appearance. The modifications of the building from 1845 essentially lasted until the 1980’s.
At the end of the 19th century changes to the entrance hall were realized and the dwelling was reconstructed into a commercial space, later as pub and until the 30’s it served as a chemist’s. From 1922 the building belonged to the married couple MUDr. Filip and Božena Hermann, who as Jews were forst deported to Terezín in 1943 and later to the extermination camp at Osvětim. After WWII the building was without owner and cared by Jihlava Residential Propety Administration which happened to completely neglect its elementary maintenance. Under these these conditions this building reached a state of devastation. In 1955 the building was selected as the most appriorate location for the country gallery. For financials reasons the projecy wasn’t realized and the building continued to be used for both residential and non-residential purpouses. From the year 1967 gallery administration vehemetly pursues the acquisition of the building which was first expropriated by the state and now until 1974 was the management taken over by the gallery. The actual adaptation for gallery usage didn’t take place until 1984- 1989. Thanks to this the building was saved and Czech architecture acquired a structure which is one of the most prestigious examples of urban Renaissance architecture.
Ivan Žlůva
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