This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of the famous French poet Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867), today rightfully considered a founding father of modernism. As F. X. Šalda wrote in 1921, the 100th anniversary of Baudelaire’s birth passed unnoticed in the Czech lands even though ‘Baudelaire is at least a third, if not half, of modern Czech poetry.’ Czech art at the turn of the  20th century began to explore the subjects of fear, desperation and evil, and the works of Czech authors and artists began to show the influence of figures such as Edgar Allan Poe, Edvard Munch and Charles Baudelaire. The themes of death, personal tragedy, alienation, solitude, fear and evil and the search for beauty in ugliness remain present in Czech art to this day.

We are marking the 200th anniversary of Charles Baudelaire’s birth with the exhibition ALONE IN THE CROWD, which explores the French poet’s connections to Czech art of the 20th century and today. The selected works by more than ninety artists reflect direct inspiration from Baudelaire as well as broader, often unconscious, connections to his life and work. The exhibition also looks at the most important themes that resonated in Baudelaire’s life and work, including his relationship to the city, his constant feelings of solitude, ennui and melancholy, his love and hatred of women, his flights to artistic Edens and his never-ending yearning to find beauty.

Exhibited artists include: Jiří Balcar, Karel Balcar, Aubrey Beardsley, Maurice de Becque, Alex Beran, Jan Beran, Zdeněk Beran, František Bílek, Josef Bolf, Félix Bracquemond, August Brömse, Karel Černý, Karel Demel, Alén Diviš, František Drtikol, Tereza Eisnerová, Carlo Farnetti, Tony George-Roux, Martin Gerboc, Anna Grmelová, Matouš Háša, Joseph Hemard, Siegfried Herz, Karel Hlaváček, Adam Holý, Jaroslav Horejc, Oskar Hořánek, František Hudeček, Henry Chapront, Dalibor Chatrný, Édouard Chimot, Jakub Janovský, Václav Jirásek a Bratrstvo, Bohumil Kafka, Svatopluk Klimeš, Jan Koblasa, František Kobliha, Quido Kocian, Jiří Kolář, Běla Kolářová, Jan Konůpek, Bohumil Kubišta, Radoslav Kutra, Josef Liesler, Martin Mainer, Jarmila Malátová, Édouard Manet, Luděk Marold, Martin Mulač, František Muzika, Karel Myslbek, Pavel Nešleha, Karolína Netolická, Viktor Oliva, Pierre Pascal, Jiří Petrbok, Pavel Piekar, Ivan Pinkava, Emil Artur Pittermann-Longen, Viktor Pivovarov, Otto Placht, Jan Preisler, Armand Rassenfosse, Odilon Redon, Michael Rittstein, Félicien Rops, Martin Salajka, Artuš Scheiner, Zdeněk Sklenář, Václav Stratil, David Strauzz, Ladislav Šaloun, Jaroslav Šerých, Michal Škapa, Marek Škubal, Karel Špillar, František Štorm, Jan Štursa, Jindřich Štyrský, Jaroslav Šváb, Max Švabinský, Richard Teschner, Mark Ther, František Tichý, Benedikt Tolar, Antonín Tomalík, Josef Váchal, Félix Édouard Vallotton, Aleš Veselý, Karel Votlučka, Ondřej Vyhnánek, Jan Vytiska, Ján Zelinka, Karel Zlín.