Photo: Czech Television
In 1583, Rudolf II, head of the Holy Roman Empire and king of Bohemia, Hungary and Croatia, moved the seat of the Habsburg monarchy from Vienna to Prague turning the city into one of the leading centers of the arts and sciences on the Continent.
During his rule, Prague Castle was transformed into a sumptuous residence filled with rich décor, priceless paintings, sculptures and curiosities. Artists, architects, scientists, philosophers, and humanists from around Europe flocked to his court.
It was here that the Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo created his famous Four Seasons series and the portrait of Rudolf II as Vertumnus. Also part of the emperor’s favoured circle were his court painter Hans von Aachen, renowned for his distinctive portrait style and the Antwerp-born painter Bartholomeus Spranger with his famous nudes, executed in the late-Mannerist style.
The leading astronomers of the time, Tycho de Brahe and Johannes Kepler worked here and sat at the emperor’s table.
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Source: Český rozhlas