Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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Collection of 526 prints of
university theses from 1637
to 1754
Inscribed 2011
What is it
A collection of university theses, spanning more than
a century, that are engraved in the baroque style and
printed in a large format.
Why was it inscribed
Apart from its exceptional artistic value, the Prague
collection comprehensively covers the golden era
of the theses’ use in the university environment, offering
a unique insight into European scholarship and the
university environment of the period.
Where is it
National Library of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech
Republic
The 526 university theses are very large poster-like
individual sheets, which were published to announce a
public university disputation. They are high-baroque in
style and are printed on paper using the copperplate, steel
engraving or mezzotint technique.
The artistic design of the theses was often done by
renowned painters (the leading Czech baroque painter,
Karel Škréta for example) and would be an original design
or reproduction of a work by a European master (Rubens,
Van Dyck, Raphael). The text was written in Latin and
included the actual theses to be defended with the names
of the defending student, chairman of the disputation and
patron, and the date and place of the disputation.
While the textual component of this important historical
source adds to what we know about the nature of university
philosophical studies and the official university ceremonies
in the 17th and 18th centuries, the visual component
significantly enriches and deepens our understanding
of the highly sophisticated baroque iconography and
baroque graphic art.
Although used by European universities from the first
half of the 16th century, they enjoyed greatest popularity
during the 17th and 18th century, largely thanks to the
232 Collection of 526 prints of university theses from 1637 to 1754
� Celebration of Leopold
with the heir to the throne.
Adoration of the Magi. �
Jesuit order, which played an important role in spreading
baroque culture in Europe and other areas of the world.
Because of their artistic and material value, the university
theses were regarded as precious objects even at the time
of their origin, and first collections of them date back to
that period. What makes the Prague collection unique
is not only its size and good condition, but that they are
related to a single institution, the Faculty of Philosophy
and the Arts of Prague University, and that they are still
kept at the place of their origin, the historical building of
the Clementinum, a former Prague Jesuit college and the
present seat of the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Covering the period from 1637 to 1754, a time when
graphic theses were most popular and widely used, the
collection maps the gradual changes of their appearance:
the length of the time it almost uninterruptedly spans
makes it something of a chronicle of baroque iconography.
The Prague collection of prints is thus unique on a world
scale since its volume, compactness and link to a single
institution make it an ideal model material from which
to draw conclusions concerning the history of other
17th- and 18th-century educational institutions. It thus
significantly contributes to our knowledge of the university
environment in the given period. Of incomparable value
from the viewpoint of both cultural and art history, the
collection is also an important source of information
on the content of philosophical studies at universities
closely linked to the Society of Jesus. It also enables
us to get a more specific idea of the contemporary
university ceremonies.