Seventeenth-century painting in Bohemia is primarily associated with Karel Škréta (circa 1610 – 1674), rightly regarded as the main protagonist of the new Baroque perspective in our region. However, such an assessment requires not only an examination of his work but also an understanding of it in the context of the creations of artists from the preceding generation, his contemporaries, and successors. Only in this way can one comprehend his artistic success in Prague and throughout Bohemia, as evidenced by the adoption of his artistic solutions even in the 18th century. The book, richly illustrated, presents three of Škréta's contemporaries, Antonín Stevens, Jan Bedřich Hess, and Matěj Zimprecht, who stood out above the average of their time, received significant commissions, and maintained a distinctive painting style; their allegedly imitative relationship with Karel Škréta is also discussed. Seventeenth-century painting in Prague is addressed in its institutional and developmental continuity, taking into account external factors traditionally viewed negatively in the domestic history of art, such as the transfer of the imperial court to Vienna after the death of Emperor Rudolf II, the post-Battle of White Mountain re-Catholicization, and the Thirty Years' War. Attention is also given to the socio-economic aspects of the artistic scene at that time...
