Kostel sv. Kateřiny na Novém Městě pražském

This prestigious publication by a group of renowned experts led by Mojmír Horyna is the very first major monograph about this important monument, which had been closed to the public for a long time, and thus relegated to peripheral interest, although it deserves attention as it is a building fully comparable to the most famous works in the Prague Baroque style. The book, published on the occasion of the completion of the conservation and restoration of the whole building complex, introduces both the history of the former Augustinian monastery, and with the fate of St Catherine Church, whose architecture and decoration are the subject of the central chapter. A detailed analysis by Mojmír Horyna emphasises the aspect of an elaborated "Gesamtkunstwerk" in the harmony of Dietzenhoffer's architectural design and sculpted and painted decoration. The part about Václav Vavřinec Reiner's frescoes was written by Pavel Preiss, an author of a monograph on this painter. He also, together with Martin Mádl, prepared also the section devoted to altar paintings with an emphasis on the work by Italian Gregorio Guglielmi. Attention is also paid to the atypical church organ (R. Hugo). Essays documenting the course and results of restoration works in 1999–2007 were written by Vladimír Fiala and Vajca Hejdová; a special chapter on the restoration of Guglielmi's painting on the main altar was written by Radana Hamsíková. The publication, accompanied by 58 photographs, contains also detailed biographies of all artists partaking in the original construction and decoration of the church and the bibliography on the topic.