Czech it out!

It's time for my second treasury-inspired feature of amazing etsy items! A while back, I made this treasury list featuring artistic depictions of one of my favorite cities I've traveled to: Prague, Czech Republic. If you haven't been there, you should go. :)

One of the coolest (and most famous) things about Prague is the Astronomical Clock, a fixture of Old Town Square. Dating back to 1410, the clock shows not only the local time, but the date, the "old Czech time" the current sign of the zodiac, the current positions of the sun and moon, and so on. To boot, there are animated figures of "the four things which are despised" which are Death, Vanity, Greed, and more humorously, the Turkish. And on the hour, all twelve apostles come out and say hello. Hundreds of people gather around in anticipation of the hour, and the show really is quite a sight to behold. The clock itself is truly beautiful, and I only wish I could say that I captured that beauty as well as Roger J. Porter, who took this stunning photograph. I love it! And there's much more beautiful photography in his shop.



This illustration, "Rooftops in Prague," by Nina Clough (aka artquirk), doesn't depict any easily-recognizable landmark, but I think that's part of its charm. Somehow, the artist has clearly portrayed the essence of the city through a simple, seemingly mundane skyline. Something about the color scheme feels distinctively Czech, though I can't quite explain why. Visit artquirk's shop to see many more engaging illustrations (both prints and originals), many of which are similarly inspired by architecture.


See what I mean about the color scheme? This photo by "javax" matches perfectly! This shot of Old Town Square amazes me. It seems to be glowing with such an inner light that it almost seems dreamlike, surreal. I don't know how the artist achieves this mysterious, magical quality, but it seems to be a theme throughout the other travel photos in his shop.



I marvel at the skill of these other artists, but I must admit that I was originally inspired to make the treasury because of the (relative) popularity of my own Prague photos. My "Tyn Church View" has a whopping (for me) 12 hearts (fans)!



And 2 of the 3 prints I've actually sold were of this funny photo, "Brotherly Sisters," which was taken in the apparently oft-photographed Old Town Square.



Here's a list of the other Prague-inspired artists whose items appeared in my treasury: kleno, ANiemanPhotography, webb1417, inkfingerSutter, WilliamDohman, stephanieamos, CagedBirdPrints, FrougesArt, LiberateThroughLight. If you can't up and leave for Central Europe right this moment, just take a journey through their shops. :)