Credit: Helen O'Mahony/Chronicle.lu

On Thursday 24 October 2024, the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Luxembourg held the opening ceremony of the exhibition “Enchanted Detail".

The black and white photography exhibition showcases original features of Art Nouveau buildings, created by architect Osvald Polívka, in the Czech capital Prague. The exhibition will be on display on the Czech Embassy fence in Luxembourg-Limpertsberg from Thursday 24 October to Tuesday 31 December 2024.

Architectural Art Nouveau originated in Brussels and was introduced to Prague in the late 1800s where it quickly became very popular. Prague currently has the biggest collection of preserved Art Nouveau buildings in the world.

The exhibition was opened by Barbora Pláničková, Deputy Head of Mission of the Czech Embassy in Luxembourg. She then introduced Kristyna Halounová, Director of the Czech Centre Brussels, who explained that Osvald Polívka designed many of Prague’s finest buildings in the late 1800s and early 1900s. These included the Municipal House, Topic House and New Town Hall. As well as designing these illustrious buildings, he also worked on less well-known ones, such as tenement houses. Ms Halounová described how “Enchanted Detail” was based on the book The Hidden Beauty of Detail: The Prague Buildings of Osvald Polívka. Written by architectural historian Zdenēk Lukeš and with photographs by Pavel Hroch, the book explores all of Polívka’s works in Prague.

Photographer Pavel Hroch, who was present at the opening ceremony, described how many of Polívka’s works were inspired by designs he had initially drawn for his children. This is especially true of his “fairytale” collection which includes many animal motifs, including dragons, lizards and frogs. He outlined the difficulties associated with photographing some of the features as they were not always easily accessible. He also spoke of how many details of Polívka’s intricate works were not widely known, due to being positioned too high off the ground to be properly seen.

The exhibition also includes children’s workshops. Pupils from the Czech section of the European School in Luxembourg had the opportunity to participate in the first workshop on Thursday morning.

The exhibition is freely accessible to the public as it is on display on the fence outside the Czech Embassy at Rond-Point Robert Schuman, Luxembourg-Limpertsberg until Tuesday 31 December 2024.