Bohuslav Bedřich Josef Schnirch (10 August 1845,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

– 30 September 1901, Prague) was a Czech sculptor, designer and

preservationist Preservationist is generally understood to mean ''historic preservationist'': one who advocates to preserve architecturally or historically significant buildings, structures, objects, or sites from demolition or degradation. Historic preservation us ...

Biography

His father was the builder and engineer, and his great-uncle, Bedřich Schnirch, designed railways and bridges. He studied

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

and architecture at the

Czech Technical University Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU, cs, České vysoké učení technické v Praze, ČVUT) is one of the largest universities in the Czech Republic with 8 faculties, and is one of the oldest institutes of technology in Central Europe. It ...

, where he was a student of

Josef Zítek Josef von Zítek (18321909) was a Czech architect best known for two Neo-Renaissance landmarks in Prague, the National Theatre and the Rudolfinum.Franz Bauer __NOTOC__ Franz Andreas Bauer (later Francis) (14 March 1758 – 11 December 1840) was an Austrian microscopist and botanical artist. Born in Feldsberg, Lower Austria (now Valtice, Czech Republic), he was the son of Lucas Bauer (died 1761), cou ...

and

Franz Melnitzky Franz Melnitzky (13 November 1822, Krasíkov – 1 February 1876, Vienna) was an Austrian sculptor. Life and work His father was a stonemason, and he was originally trained for the same profession. After deciding to become a sculptor, he we ...

, and in Munich with

Max von Widnmann Max von Widnmann (ennobled as Maximilian Ritter von Widnmann; 16 October 1812 – 3 March 1895)Th-B, "Widnmann, Max von, sculptor", ''Dictionary of German Biography'', ed. Walther Killy and Rudolf Vierhaus, with Dietrich von Engelhardt ''et al'' ...

. During his stay in Italy, from 1871 to 1873, he was heavily influenced by

Renaissance sculpture Renaissance sculpture is understood as a process of recovery of the sculpture of classical antiquity. Sculptors found in the artistic remains and in the discoveries of sites of that bygone era the perfect inspiration for their works. They were als ...

. After returning home, he was approached by Zítek to provide decorations for the new National Theatre, that was under construction. Schnirch created statues of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

and the Nine Muses for the columns above the main entrance. Some of his bronze figures, on the corner pylons, were destroyed during the fire that engulfed parts of the theatre shortly after its opening in 1881. He also provided decorations for the

Rudolfinum The Rudolfinum is a building in Prague, Czech Republic. It is designed in the neo-renaissance style and is situated on Jan Palach Square on the bank of the river Vltava. Since its opening in 1885, it has been associated with music and art. Curr ...

; another building designed by Zítek. The

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

design for the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

, by

Josef Schulz Josef Schulz (1909/1910 – 20 July 1941), also spelled Joseph Schultz, was a German soldier of the 714th Infantry Division stationed in German-occupied Serbia during World War II. He died in 1941, allegedly executed after refusing to take part ...

, gave Schnirch an opportunity to compete in a contest, to select a sculptor for decorative work. He won the competition, over

Antonín Pavel Wagner Antonín Pavel Wagner (3 July 1834, Dvůr Králové nad Labem – 27 January 1895, Vienna) was a Czech sculptor who spent most of his career in Vienna. Life and work His family was involved in the textile industry. After completing secondary sc ...

and Antonín Popp, and created four allegorical groups for the main dome, representing "Dedication", "Enthusiasm", "Love for the Truth" and "Love for the Past". He entered another competition in 1894, to design a monument for St. Wenceslaus but, despite very positive reviews for his entry, he was passed over in favor of

Josef Václav Myslbek Josef Václav Myslbek (20 June 1848 – 2 June 1922) was a Czech sculptor and medalist credited with founding the modern Czech sculpting style.Stech, V. V. Josef Vaclav Myslbek, Prague, 1954. Artia. Life Josef grew up poor in a suburb of Prague ...

. His largest and most familiar work, an equestrian monument to

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad ( cs, Jiří z Poděbrad; german: Georg von Podiebrad), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the ...

, was completed in 1891, depicting the moment when George is reaching out to shake the hand of

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...

. The figure is twice life size and constructed of copper plates. His final major commission involved figures for the on

Old Town Square Old Town Square ( cs, Staroměstské náměstí or colloquially ) is a historic square in the Old Town quarter of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. It is located between Wenceslas Square and Charles Bridge. Buildings The square fe ...

. One, a firefighter rescuing a victim, was the last work he completed before his death. The other, "A Call to Alarm", was completed by one of his students,

Ladislav Šaloun Ladislav Jan Šaloun (1 August 1870, Prague – 18 October 1946, Prague) was a prominent Czech sculptor of the Art Nouveau period. Life Šaloun was born in 1870 in Prague and he studied in the studios of Tomáš Seidan and Bohuslav Schnirch.< ...

. The in the

Vinohrady Královské Vinohrady (in English literally "Royal Vineyards" german: Königliche Weinberge) is a cadastral district in Prague. It is so named because the area was once covered in vineyards dating from the 14th century. Vinohrady lies in the muni ...

district, has been declared a

cultural monument A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage regist ...

. It was built in 1875, from a design by

Antonín Wiehl Antonín Wiehl (26 April 1846, Plasy – 4 November 1910, Prague) was a Czech architect, museum official, and patron of the arts. He helped create the first system of historic preservation in Bohemia. Biography His father was an Austrian forest ...

, with

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

s by Schnirch.

Selected works

Pomník krále Jiřího 1.jpg, Prazska mestska pojistovna 2.JPG, The Firefighter Vinohrady, Mikovcova 5, sgrafito 3.jpg, Section of the Frieze on the Schnirch House ND sochy 1.jpg, Apollo and the Muses Bohuslav Schnirch, Obětavost, Národní muzeum v Praze.jpg, "Dedication",
National Museum

Sources

Genealogy, timeline and photographs
@ Jiří Payne (blog)

by Jarmila Ličková, thesis,

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

, 1992
Biography
@ AbART

External links

* Wittlich, Petr
"Schnirch, Bohuslav."
In Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, (accessed January 23, 2012; subscription required). {{DEFAULTSORT:Schnirch, Bohuslav Artists from Prague Czech male sculptors 1845 births 1901 deaths Czech architectural sculptors