Prague is looking for the lost Alš. You too can save one of the most beautiful paintings of the Industrial Palace Culture | News | Prague Gossip
In addition to the entire left wing, the devastating fire of 2008 also took away from the history of the Industrial Palace a stained-glass painting by Mikoláš Alš called Plowing and the Hunt from 1890. The capital city of Prague is currently looking for high-quality photographs, according to which glass masters would determine the correct color of all kinds of paintings. The new painted stained-glass window is therefore a target not only for a potential visitor to the Industrial Palace, who took a photo in front of the painting, but also for the stained-glass artist Zdenek Kudláček, who has the task of creating a faithful copy of this historical gem.
It has been thirteen years since the Industrial Palace, the central landmark of the entire Bubeneč Exhibition Center, suffered a fire. The painter irretrievably destroyed the entire left wing of the palace, and with it burned a painting from 1890 by the well-known Czech Mikoláš Alš called Plowing and Hunting, which decorated the shield of the left wing until the fatal fire.
The Czech glass studio Kolektiv Ateliers from Nové Bor is in charge of the restoration of the historical stained glass windows damaged by extreme heat, and the artistic glassmaker Zdeněk Kudláček. The work also includes the creation of a copy of a unique painting by Mikoláš Alš, which on these almost 19 square meters depicted a woman with a sheaf of grain, representing Orba and a man with a spear as an allegory of hunting.
Looking for the lost Aleš
At the moment, however, master glassmakers from Kolektiv Ateliers face a difficult task. In order to create a painting with the most accurate determination of the color of the individual glass fillings of the stained glass windows and preserve the authentic historical legacy, a high-quality photograph of the original stained glass painting by Mikoláš Alš is needed. Now the glassmakers have at their disposal a preserved drawing and one old photograph. However, since this is a detailed and rare painting that must be depicted as faithfully as possible and down to the smallest detail, it is necessary to find a better quality photograph.
Together with experts, Prague is looking for high-quality photos of the painted stained glass window from the shield of the burnt-out left wing and is turning to the people of Prague and the Výstaviště area with a request to provide a photo in which the painted stained glass window would be captured. As a reward for participants, the capital offers a guided tour of the building with architect Vladimír Thiel.
One photo is currently available (Source: Jiří Wagner). However, this is insufficient for the purpose of making a new stained glass painting.
A bit of alchemy, but also science
The preserved drawing will now serve as a template for a new painting, which is in charge of stained glass artist Zdeněk Kudláček and head of the Kolektiv Ateliers studio. The higher quality photo provided will help experts determine the exact color shades for making a new painting. This is a very detailed and rare painting elaborated to the smallest detail.
The painting is large 19 square meters (5.8 to 3.3 meters)
The painting itself takes 3 monthsanother 1.5 months then other work (creating templates, cutting, etc.)
980 pieces of stubble is needed for this painted stained glass window
The process by which the final creation is created is also unique. It is not about painting with colors as most of us can imagine. “It’s not actually paint, but finely ground low-melting glass, which we create a fine powder from. Then mix this glass powder with binders on a sandblasted glass plate. We also work differently depending on whether we want to get an oily or a water main. The oily variant is created by mixing the powder with turpentine and damara, or screen printing oil, sometimes we also add kerosene. On the contrary, the water variant is mixed with distilled water and honey or sugar, possibly with Arabic gum, sometimes there is a little vinegar.” explains Zdeněk Kudláček unconventional method.
“Mixing and testing the burn and contour paint is an important step. It’s a matter of picking the right shade for each new glass. We also emphasize the same decor or method of original production. All glass is painted on a light table, which is a matted sheet of glass that is backlit by light. It thus imitates the final lighting conditions in the window, which is important for estimating the shade and intensity of the application of glass paint. The goal is to make the new glasses indistinguishable from the originals. We apply mixed paint to stained glass windows using different types of brushes made from squirrel, marten and badger hair, as well as synthetic fibers. After applying the desired color to the glass, let it dry and then fire it in the oven at approximately 550 degrees Celsius. After firing, the glass must be cooled very carefully so that there is no tension in it and it does not subsequently crack. It takes about three months to make a copy. On top of that, one and a half months of creating templates, cutting, folding, soldering, puttying, cleaning and assembly.” adds Zdeněk Kudláček.
“Our goal is for the reconstruction of an important historical building such as the Industrial Palace to take place with maximum preservation of its original form. We are currently at the point where we are faced with the task of making the most accurate copy of the stained glass painting by Mikoláš Alš called Plowing and Hunting. If you visited the Industrial Palace before the fire and took a photo of the stained glass window, please send the photo to [email protected]. If you know an enthusiastic historian and photographer who might have the photo, please let them know they might be able to help us. For everyone who sends us a photo, we offer a guided tour of the building and architect Vladimír Thiel,” states Tomas Hüblchairman of the board of Výstaviště Praha.
Photos can be sent until the end of this year
The ongoing completion of the burned-out left wing of the Industrial Palace, together with the restoration of the damaged stained-glass windows and the creation of a new stained-glass painting, will be very demanding. However, the people of Prague and all visitors to the Exhibition Center will once again be able to enjoy spectacular international fairs and exhibitions in the premises of the Industrial Palace, which, thanks to modern technologies and equipment, will rank among the top fairgrounds.