This pair of apartment buildings, part of an ensemble of four houses built by František Valenta in 1912, is particularly interesting for its sculptural decoration.
Each building is the mirror image of the other, their four-bay facades visually broken up by distinctly projecting asymmetrical avant-corps with arched portals topped by pointed gable roofs. To the side of the entrance is an arched basement-level loggia. The smooth facades are patterned with variously sized rectangular windows framed by profiled or flat chambranles. The buildings are mildly curved at their interface, where they are visually joined by a large figural relief of a nude male and female figure on the level of the second floor. In an intimate gesture, the woman is gently placing her right hand on the man’s left forearm. Both figures have their other arms behind their backs, with their hands gripping the window frames in a playful decorative detail. The scene, framed by bands of geometric ornament with oval organic motifs, is further complemented by putti on both sides. Thematically, the relief reflects the facade’s overall volumetric composition: the two figures’ gentle caress symbolizes not just the union of man and woman but also that of the two buildings. This theme continues in the ornamental décor on the rest of the facade in the form of reliefs of mandorla surrounded by spiralling tendrils above the entrances and geometric vases with stylized spiral flowers on the lateral window bays. Similar spiral motifs combined with organic shapes were typical for the period around 1910 and can be interpreted as symbols of the sun, life and growth. On this double house, the sculptural decoration is more than just decorative; it is a symbolic expression of the ‘celebration of life’.
The building at number 53 was purchased in 1915 by Marie Procházková, and over the following years the brothers Franz and Engelbert Procházka lived here with their families. The building is still residential and is very well preserved.
Pavla Cenková