Jitka Šosová

MGR. JITKA ŠOSOVÁ

Jitka studied at Charles University and UMPRUM, Prague, and Université de Bourgogne, in Dijon, France. She holds degrees in Art History and Theory and History of Design and New Media. In her doctoral research, she focuses on the construction of the canon of Czech post-war art after 1989. In 2018, Jitka has concluded a research project focused on a collection of fine arts assembled by Czechoslovakian presidents in Prague Castle between 1918 and 1953 and together with her colleague Markéta Ježková presented their findings in a form of a show and a comprehensive catalogue under the title Buy it, then! TGM and an Art Collection for the Prague Castle. She was a member of the curatorial team behind the permanent exhibit of the National Gallery Prague entitled 1918-1938. The First Republic. She has also lectured for multiple art museums in the Czech Republic (The National Gallery Prague, Kampa Museum, Klatovy-Klenová Gallery, The Municipal Gallery of Prague). Currently, she also teaches at Scholastika College and the University of West Bohemia. 

THE OTHER ART HISTORY: CANONIZATION STRATEGIES OF CZECH POST-WORLD WAR II ART AFTER THE VELVET REVOLUTION

The dissertation examines the canonization processes of Czech post-war art after 1989. It addresses the question of the means by which the generally accepted narrative of Czech modern art was established in the post-revolutionary decade, exploring them in several key areas. First, it focuses on the construction of a new canon of post-war art history through the permanent exhibitions opened by Czech, Moravian and Silesian art museums during the 1990s. The focus on permanent exhibitions is due to the longer period of artistic production they represent and, above all, to the fact that, compared to temporary exhibitions, they perform the educational function of art museums much more strongly.  Secondly, the project identifies and analyses the concepts that the public had to understand the newly translated narrative of art history. And thirdly, it traces how post-war Czech art was treated in the primary school curriculum, especially in history and art education. Together, these three areas of research reveal the successes and failures of canonization processes and contribute to clarifying the current state of the discipline of art history in the Czech-speaking world.