The Czech lands have produced artists that have gained recognition throughout the world, including Alfons Mucha, widely regarded as one of the key exponents of the Art Nouveau style, and František Kupka, a pioneer of abstract art.

The Czech lands have produced several important finds of prehistoric art, notably the Venus of Dolní Věstonice, a pottery Venus figurine of a nude female dated to 29,000–25,000 BC, and a distinct style of Celtic art. For most subsequent periods, Czech art was especially close to Austrian and German art, and participated in most phases of this. In periods when Prague was the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, it was a key centre of the current artistic style, using artists of both Czech and foreign origin.

This was especially the case for the International Gothic style of the 14th century, and the Northern Mannerism of the late 16th and early 17th. After the Thirty Years War, when the largely non-Catholic Czech lands were returned to Catholic Habsburg control, a massive propaganda effort by the church has left rich remains of Baroque art and architecture. From the 19th century, Czech nationalism had a strong influence on all the arts.

The most famous Czech - Israeli artist is Yehuda Bacon was deported from Ostrava to the Ghetto Theresienstadt and then to the concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, where he and other imprisoned children were used to bedazzle the International Committee of the Red Cross in the so-called "family camp". He studied at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. In 1959, he became a professor of graphic art and drawing at Bezalel in Israel.

The Czech Republic offers visitors and locals several exciting and easily accessible museums. Many of the Museums and Galleries are under the National Museum or National Galleries.

The National Gallery runs eight galleries in Prague and has various art focuses and activities. We also encourage you to visit the Prague City Gallery, which also offers several venues across the city with varied accompanying program.

We also recommend visiting the Jewish Museum in Prague, which is located in the center of the old Jewish city, not only for people with a Jewish background or heritage.