City Gallery Prague

The Bílek Villa in Prague's Hradčany used to be the home and workplace of the famous Czech sculptor, architect and graphic artist František Bílek. Today Bílek's original artwork from his most creative periods, and furniture reproductions based on Bílek's original designs, as well as the original fittings of the villa are on display in the building.

The Art Nouveau villa was built between 1910 and 1911, according to the architect's own design, and served not only as his residence, but also as his studio. It was built on the site of a former Baroque fortification, of which only the nearby Písek Gate has been preserved. All of František Bílek's architectural works were ideologically-motivated, which was also the case with the villa. Its floorplan represents a scythe used for cutting corn, while the villa itself represents a corn field, and individual columns symbolize bundles of corn tied together after being cut down. Unplastered bricks and stone serve to bring the building closer to nature and the concept of human work. The villa has been under the expert administration of the City Gallery in Prague since 1963 and it was turned into a museum exhibiting Bílek's work, as the author had wished.