Josef Gocár
Encyclopedia
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, one of the founders of modern architecture in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
.
Josef Gočár received his early instruction at the State Technical School in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. At the age of 23 he went to study under Jan Kotěra
Jan Kotera
Jan Kotěra was a Czech architect, artist and interior designer, and one of the key figures of modern architecture in Bohemia.-Biography:...
at the Prague School of Applied Arts. For two years afterward, 1906–1908, Gočár was employed by Kotěra's studio. At that time he decided to join the Mánes Union of Fine Arts
Mánes Union of Fine Arts
The Manes Association of Fine Artists was an artists' association and exhibition society founded in 1887 in Prague and named after the painter Josef Mánes....
, but left it in 1911 to join the Cubist Group of Visual Artists. Gočár joined Pavel Janák
Pavel Janák
Pavel Janák was a Czech modernist architect, furniture designer, town planner, professor and theoretician.Janák studied with Otto Wagner in Vienna between 1906 and 1908, and worked in Prague under Jan Kotěra...
, Josef Chochol
Josef Chochol
Josef Chochol was a Czech architect.-Education:Chocol studied architecture at the polytechnic in Prague , then at the academy in Vienna, under guidance of Otto Wagner .-Career:...
and Odoln Grege in founding the Prague Art Workshops in 1912. In 1924, following the death of Kotěra, Gočár became a professor at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts
Academy of Fine Arts in Prague
The Academy of Fine Arts, Prague was founded in 1799 and is the Czech Republic's oldest art college. The school offers twelve Master's degree programs and one Doctoral program.-History:...
.
After his involvement in cubism, Gočár turned to "national" Czech Rondocubism style in the early '20s. Later on he adopted the Functionalist
Functionalism (architecture)
Functionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than it first appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern...
approach to architecture. Among his greatest accomplishments is the Czechoslovak Pavilion for the Exposition internatale des art decoratifs et industriels modernes in Paris of 1925; he was awarded the Grand Prize for that design. In 1926 Gočár was awarded the Ordre de la Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
.
Works
- Wenke Department Store, JaroměřJaromerJaroměř is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It is located 15 kilometers northeast of the district town of Hradec Králové. The town lies at the confluence of three rivers, notably the Mettau and the Elbe...
, (1909–1911) - House of the Black MadonnaHouse of the Black MadonnaThe House of the Black Madonna is a cubist building in the "Old Town" area of Prague, Czech republic. It was designed by Josef Gočár. It is currently in use as a small museum of Cubism and is open to the public....
, PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
's Old Town (1911–1912) - Bauer villa, LibodřiceLibodřiceLibodřice is a village and municipality in Kolín District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. -References:*This article was initially translated from the Czech Wikipedia....
near KolínKolínKolín is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic some east from Prague, lying on the Elbe river.-History:Kolín was founded by king Přemysl Otakar II in the 13th century, first mentioned in 1261. Later on, 1437, a castle was founded here...
, (1912–1913) - Dům Zemědělské osvěty, Vinohrady, Prague, 1924–1926
- Saint Wenceslas church, Vršovice, Prague, 1929–1930
- A 10 year period of town planning and building designBuilding designBuilding design refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licensed architect or structural engineer...
for Hradec KrálovéHradec KrálovéHradec Králové is a city of the Czech Republic, in the Hradec Králové Region of Bohemia. The city's economy is based on food-processing technology, photochemical, and electronics manufacture. Traditional industries include musical instrument manufacturing – the best known being PETROF pianos...
where a large street still bears his name today.