Josef Václav Myslbek
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....
sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
credited for founding of the modern Czech sculpting style.
Josef grew up poor in a suburb of 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...
. His family pushed him to become a shoemaker but he shirked the duty by getting a job with a succession of Czech sculptors. There was no school program for sculpting so he studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague instead. Afterwards he opened his own sculpting studio. He became greatly inspired by the French sculpting style as well as related arts such as photography and literature.
Bedrich Smetana
Bedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music...
and František Palacký
František Palacký
František Palacký was a Czech historian and politician.-Biography:...
.
By far Myslbek’s most famous work is the statue of Saint Wenceslas, which is located in the center of Wenceslas Square
Wenceslas Square
Wenceslas Square is one of the main city squares and the centre of the business and cultural communities in the New Town of Prague, Czech Republic. Many historical events occurred there, and it is a traditional setting for demonstrations, celebrations, and other public gatherings...
. It took him over 20 years to complete but has since become one of Prague’s most recognizable landmarks and a symbol of Czech statehood.
Josef Václav Myslbek influenced an entire generation of Czech sculptors and his students include Stanislav Sucharda
Stanislav Sucharda
Stanislav Sucharda , Czech sculptor and professor at the Prague School of Applied Arts from 1899, and a leading figure in the Mánes Union of Fine Arts Stanislav Sucharda (1866–1916), Czech sculptor and professor at the Prague School of Applied Arts from 1899, and a leading figure in the Mánes Union...
, Jan Štursa
Jan Štursa
Jan Štursa was a Czech sculptor, one of founders of modern Czech sculpture.- Birth and studies :...
, Bohumil Kafka
Bohumil Kafka
Bohumil Kafka was a Czech sculptor and pedagogue, born February 14, 1878 in Nova Paka, Bohemia and died on November 24, 1942.He studied in Prague with sculptor Josef Václav Myslbek before moving to Vienna and then Paris to continue his studies. He worked in London, Berlin and Rome before...
and Otokar Španiel.
Myslbek, along with such other Czech notables as Bedřich Smetana
Bedrich Smetana
Bedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music...
, Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
, Karel Čapek
Karel Capek
Karel Čapek was Czech writer of the 20th century.-Biography:Born in 1890 in the Bohemian mountain village of Malé Svatoňovice to an overbearing, emotional mother and a distant yet adored father, Čapek was the youngest of three siblings...
, Mikoláš Aleš
Mikoláš Aleš
Mikoláš Aleš , was a Czech painter.-Biography:Aleš was born in Mirotice near Písek, into a relatively rich family that was in debt at the time. He was taught history by his brother František until the latter's death in 1865; he expressed interest in painting at an early age...
, Alfons Mucha
Alfons Mucha
Alfons Maria Mucha , known in English as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech Art Nouveau painter and decorative artist, known best for his distinct style. He produced many paintings, illustrations, advertisements, postcards, and designs.-Early years:...
, Jan Štursa
Jan Štursa
Jan Štursa was a Czech sculptor, one of founders of modern Czech sculpture.- Birth and studies :...
and Ladislav Šaloun is buried in Prague's National Cemetery.
References:
Stech, V. V. Josef Vaclav Myslbek, Prague, 1954. Artia.