Vladimir Winkler ( rus, Влади́мир Фра́нцевич Ви́нклер, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr ˈvʲinklʲɪr; 1884–1956) was a Czech sculptor best known for early 20th century buildings' facades in Russian Siberia. Born František Winkler, he adopted the name Vladimir when living in Russia.

Biography

František Winkler was born in 1.6.1885 in

Přerov Přerov (; german: Prerau) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 41,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Bečva River. In the past it was a major crossroad in the heart of Moravia in the Czech Republic. The historic centre ...

, near Olomouc, in the heart of Moravia,

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. Since his childhood he was interested in art, and his father sent him to an Industrial Arts school in Prague, after graduating from which, František entered the Prague School of Applied Arts, where he studied in the class of Professor

Stanislav Sucharda

Stanislav Sucharda (12 November 1866 in Nová Pa ...

. Winkler graduated from the school in 1908 and engaged in arts. World War I, that started in 1914, changed his life. He was a photographer at the Russian-German front and was taken captive. As a prisoner of war, he was sent to

Omsk Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...

. At that time, Omsk was passing through the phase of cultural and economic upturn. The city was growing rapidly and had resources to elect monumental administrative buildings, cultural and educational facilities. Omsk needed Winkler's talent to decorate the facades and interiors. In the beginning, he was the only academic sculptor in the region. Omsk Drama Theatre

Winkler's works include the buildings of New Town Theater (now Omsk Drama Theater), which pediment is topped by his sculpture of a winged genius, Omsk Railway Administration, Commercial School, Chrystal Palace cinema, Court of Justice, Russian Asiatic Society. It is his statues and relief compositions that make these greatest buildings in Omsk stand out. In early 1918, Winkler went with Czechoslovak Legion to Vladivostok, where he continued his work through the Civil War and several political system changes. New Theater's sculptural decoration, created in 1924, and the monumental composition "The proletarian, breaking the chains around the Earth" on the Palace of Labour mark his Soviet period. In 1928, he left the Soviet Russia and went to

Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...

, China, where many White Russians lived at that time, and again lived through wars and different political regimes, first creating works dedicated to

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

, then to Stalin and Mao Zedong. Winkler died in Harbin in 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkler, Vladimir Czech sculptors Czech male sculptors 20th-century Russian sculptors 20th-century Russian male artists Russian male sculptors 1884 births 1956 deaths