Illustration for Vyšehrad 

Artuš Scheiner created this illustration for Vyšehrad in the late 19th or early 20th century. In it, we see a female figure, sword in hand, emerging from the darkness. Above her, a statue sits atop a rocky precipice under the light of the moon. This is an illustration for Vyšehrad, a castle in Prague, in what is now the Czech Republic. Prague in this period was caught in a struggle between its Czech and German speaking populations. It's visual language draws on older myths and legends to promote a distinct sense of Czech national identity. This image taps into deep reservoirs of cultural memory, but we as art historians must ask questions of how collective memory is constructed and for what purposes it is used. Research into the institutions of artistic production and patronage active in Prague at the time helps us to understand this artwork in all its historical specificity.