Inspired by Baroque and Max Švabinský

Hotel Octárna is located in the very heart of historic Kroměříž, just 500 meters from the main square. Thanks to its exceptional location in the city center, guests have all the important monuments and tourist destinations literally within reach - most of them can be comfortably visited on foot.

The entire complex of today's Octárna is built on the former convent of the Franciscan monastery buildings from the 17th century. The rooms and apartments are modern and tastefully furnished in a Baroque-inspired style with all the latest features that are standard in luxury hotel rooms today. In terms of comfort, the rooms offer real comfort even to the most demanding guests. Every guest will appreciate a quality sleep on comfortable mattresses, a stylish bathroom, romantic room lighting, an imaginatively equipped minibar, a TV with internet access or relaxing armchairs in which to enjoy a book.

Despite the character of the historical building, access is barrier-free.

Who was Max Švabinský

One of the most important Czech painters, draftsmen and graphic artists was born on September 17, 1873 in Kroměříž. There are memorial plaques on his birthplace and on the house in the Octárna area, where they soon moved. As a ten-year-old, he exhibited his first works in the window of the Kroměříž pharmacy and helped his family by selling them. In 1891, he graduated from the Kroměříž Realká, where he studied in the fifth grade, and was accepted at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where he studied until 1896. In Prague, Švabinský soon established himself as a talented draftsman (line drawing Youth, 1896) and portrait painter (Aunt Máry). In the same period, he also created works inspired by symbolism, such as the Fusion of Souls (1896) or the triptych Desire – Feeling of Bliss – Delight (1896). In the vestibule of the Land Bank in Příkopy he painted two large compositions with the motif of the Czech land and prosperity. At the end of his studies he spent a short time in Dresden and Paris. After returning to Prague he began to devote himself more to oil painting. He created paintings depicting the landscape and nature around the village of Kozlov near Česká Třebová in the transformation of different seasons. These include, for example, The Poor Region and At the State (1900–1901), which has not been preserved. It was destroyed in a fire after the earthquake in San Francisco and remained only in the form of lithographs and sketches. Frequent subjects of his work were female figures (Yellow Umbrella) and exotic elements (paradise birds, butterflies). Using various techniques he created a number of portraits of important personalities and also group family portraits (Atelier, 1915). His work also includes a mural in the Municipal House from 1911 entitled Czech Spring, which represents two groups of Czech revivalists. Graphic arts played a significant role in Švabinský's work. From 1910 to 1927, he was a professor of graphic arts at the Academy and from 1927 until his retirement in 1939, he was a professor of figurative painting. In the newly formed Czechoslovakia, he was one of the most respected artists. He created a portrait of President Masaryk and, together with Alfons Mucha, designed the first banknotes and postage stamps. In 1936, he received a government commission to decorate the auditorium of the dead warriors in the memorial at Vítkov. Another major work was the design of stained glass windows in St. Vitus Cathedral.

Švabinský's mosaics – from the National Theatre to the Octárne

In 1941, Max Švabinský was commissioned to create mosaics that were to replace the damaged lunettes in the loggia of the National Theatre. The original decoration was created using the fresco technique by Josef Tulka, a representative of the National Theatre generation. Although the frescoes survived the theatre fire in 1881, they gradually suffered from the effects of exhalations and inappropriate interventions. The expert committee therefore proposed their removal and replacement with a mosaic that was more resistant to external conditions. Švabinský prepared the cardboards for the four lunettes in 1950–1952 and, together with the glass technologist Mikhail Ajvaz and the workshop of the Central Office of Artistic Crafts, prepared the complete implementation. The depicted themes were: Libuše predicting the glory of Prague Charles IV. establishes a university Jan Žižka leads the Táborites into battle Comenus bids farewell to his homeland Builders of the National Theatre In the end, however, the lunettes for the National Theatre were not installed – the conservationists decided to restore the original frescoes, which turned out to be in very good condition. Švabinský received the State Prize for his mosaics and the work passed under the administration of the National Gallery, later the Art History Museum in Kroměříž. In 1973, the lunettes were placed in the Colloredo Colonnade in the Podzámecká Garden, which provided them with a dignified space. However, in 1997 they were removed due to the preparation of the area for UNESCO registration. After years of searching for a suitable location, in 1999 four of them found a permanent home on the wall of the former Franciscan monastery – today's hotel and restaurant Octárna, where Švabinský spent part of his youth. The fifth lunette, dedicated to the Builders of the National Theatre, did not fit here due to space constraints. In 2024, it was ceremonially installed on the Great Square, in front of the entrance to the Museum of Kroměříž. The original proposal to replace Tulka's work was reevaluated years later - these were unique monumental frescoes of their kind, whose artistic value and unity with the theatre's decoration ultimately prevailed. This completed an interesting chapter in the history of Czech monumental art.

SOURCES:

https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_%C5%A0vabinsk%C3%BD

https://www.muzeum-km.cz/lunety-maxe-svabinskeho

https://maxsvabinsky.cz/#artwork_2