Rare paintings by Czech artist Jaroslav Čermák return to Prague

The Prague City Gallery is hosting a major retrospective of works by Czech painter Jaroslav Čermák starting on November 4, 2026.

The exhibition, titled Jaroslav Čermák: Myths of European Reality, brings together paintings, portraits, and drawings from both Czech and international collections. It marks the first time in nearly a century that the artist's works have been gathered on such a large scale.

The artist lived from 1830 to 1878 and built a career in Paris, where he gained recognition at the Paris Salons. While he achieved success in France and Belgium, his work often focused on the Balkans and the region's struggles for independence from the Ottoman Empire. The exhibition explores how his paintings reflected 19th-century political tensions and the expectations of Western European audiences who viewed these conflicts as exotic.

The gallery collaborated with the National Gallery Prague to organize the show, which includes 53 loans from that institution. Other international loans come from the Louvre, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, and the Amsterdam Museum. The retrospective also features a large 1868 painting titled Spoils of War from Brussels and a charcoal drawing on canvas that Čermák left unfinished before his death. Research and conservation work by 17 conservators prepared the artworks for the show.

This research also led historians to identify a painting titled Golgotha as the work of a different artist rather than Čermák. The curators chose to include this piece to show how historians investigate authorship. The exhibition will run until February 28, 2027, and includes an interactive studio for children and families.