The House at the Black Madonna

The first implementation of Cubist architecture, the department store named U Černé Matky Boží (At the Black Madonna), built in 1911–1912, was designed by the then 31-year-old Josef Gočár for the wholesaler František Josef Herbst. The architect employed the characteristic Cubist idiom mainly on the entrance portal, dormer windows, wrought-iron grille at the entrance and the staircase balustrade; the illusive painting of the interior walls with geometric designs was equally compelling.