Otto Gutfreund (3 August 1889 – 2 June 1927) also written Oto Gutfreund, was a Czechoslovak

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. After studying art in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

and Paris, he became known in the 1910s for his sculptures in a

cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

style. After his service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he worked in a more realistic style. His later work includes many small

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...

ceramic figures as well as architectural decorations.

Early life

Otto Gutfreund was born in the town of

Dvůr Králové nad Labem Dvůr Králové nad Labem (, german: Königinhof an der Elbe) is a town in Trutnov District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It lies in the Elbe river valley. Dvůr Králové nad Labem is kno ...

, Bohemia, into a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family as the fourth of five children of Karel and Emilie Gutfreund. During 1903 to 1906 he studied pottery at the Škola výtvarných umění (School of Creative Arts) in the town of

Bechyně Bechyně (; german: Bechin, Beching or ''Bechingen'') is a town in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,900 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban ...

. From 1906 to 1909 he studied in the figurative and ornamental modelling department of the Umělecko-průmyslová škola (College of Decorative Arts) in Prague. Gutfreund discovered the works of the French sculptor Antoine Bourdelle during his 1909 exhibition in Prague organized by the artistic group SVU Mánes. Gutfreund then moved to Paris where he studied under Bourdelle at the

Académie de la Grande Chaumière The Académie de la Grande Chaumière is an art school in the Montparnasse district of Paris, France. History The school was founded in 1904 by the Catalan painter Claudio Castelucho on the rue de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, near the Acad� ...

from 1909 to 1910.Cooper, Philip. ''Cubism''. London: Phaidon, 1995, p. 102. In Paris he met Auguste Rodin and discovered medieval art. In 1910 he left Paris and travelled to Great Britain, Belgium, and Germany before returning to Prague.

Prague

In 1912 Gutfreund became a member of Skupina výtvarných umělců (Group of Creative Artists) in Prague and exhibited there his first cubo-expressionist sculpture ''Úzkost'' (''Anxiety''). The next year he participated in the second exhibition of the Group and showed his works ''Hamlet'', ''Harmony'' and ''Concert''. Between 1913 and 1914 he used the principles of

analytical cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

in his work. In the third exhibition Gutfreund displayed the cubo-expressionist works ''Viki'' and ''Head with a Hat''. He exhibited at

Der Sturm ''Der Sturm'' () was a German avant-garde art and literary magazine founded by Herwarth Walden, covering Expressionism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, among other artistic movements. It was published between 1910 and 1932. History and profile ' ...

gallery in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and at the fourth Group exhibition in Prague. In 1914 he travelled to Paris where he met

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Juan Gris José Victoriano González-Pérez (23 March 1887 – 11 May 1927), better known as Juan Gris (; ), was a Spanish painter born in Madrid who lived and worked in France for most of his active period. Closely connected to the innovative artistic ge ...

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire) of the Wąż coat of arms. (; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of t ...

and Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler.

World War One

At the declaration of the First World War Gutfreund was in Paris and decided to join the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

. He participated at the fighting on the Somme, at L'Artois and

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

. In 1915 he applied to join the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

and the following year had been imprisoned after his application was refused both for the French Army and the

Czechoslovak Legion The Czechoslovak Legion (Czech language, Czech: ''Československé legie''; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Československé légie'') were volunteer armed forces composed predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting on the side of the Allies of World ...

. He spent two years in a prison camp at Saint-Michel de Frigolet Abbey near Avignon. In 1918 he was moved to a civilian camp at Blanzy and after his release he settled in Paris to continue his work. For a short time he returned to Prague to accept a membership of the artistic group SVU Mánes.

1920s and death

In 1920 Gutfreund moved permanently to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and lived in Prague and his birthplace town Dvůr Králové nad Labem. His works of the 1920s are generally realistic in form,Metken 1981, p. 240. and exemplify the postwar "

return to order The return to order (French: ''retour à l'ordre'') was a European art movement that followed the First World War, rejecting the extreme avant-garde art of the years up to 1918 and taking its inspiration from classical art instead. The movement w ...

" in the arts. He executed many small works in polychrome ceramic, such as the ''Textile Worker'' (1921) in the

National Gallery in Prague The National Gallery Prague ( cz, Národní galerie Praha, NGP), formerly the National Gallery in Prague (), is a state-owned art gallery in Prague, which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic and presents masterpieces of Cze ...

. In 1921 he participated at the third exhibition of the group of artists in Prague, Brno and Košice. In 1924 he exhibited at the Exhibition of Modern Czechoslovak Art in Paris and in 1925 in the Czechoslovak Pavilion of International Decorative Arts Exhibition in Paris. The following year Gutfreund was made a professor of architectural sculpture at the Umělecko-průmyslová škola (College of Decorative Arts) in Prague and took part in the Société Anonyme exhibition in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. On 2 June 1927 Gutfreund, at the height of his artistic powers, drowned in the river

Vltava Vltava ( , ; german: Moldau ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice and Prague, and finally merging with the Labe at ...

. He was buried in

Vinohrady Cemetery Vinohrady Cemetery ( cs, Vinohradský hřbitov) is a large cemetery in Vinohrady in Prague 10 which contains Strašnice Crematorium. It is the second largest cemetery in Prague and is registered in the state list of cultural monuments. The remain ...

.Vinohrady Cemeteries
MyCzechRepublic.com, retrieved 20 November 2013

Legacy

Jiří Kotalík, Director of the

, wrote in 1979:

Selection of works

* Anxiety (1911–1912) * Hamlet II (1912) * Don Quixote (1911–12) * Viki (1912–13) * Cellist (1912–13) * Head with a hat (1913–14) * Group: Lovers (1913–14) * Head (1916) * Sitting Woman (1916) * Woman's Head (1919) * Mask with a Necklace (1919–20) * Own Portrait (1919) * Legions' Return – relief on

Josef Gočár Josef Gočár (13 March 1880 in Semín – 10 September 1945 in Jičín) was a Czech architect. It was one of the founders of modern architecture in Czech Republic. Life Josef Gočár received his early instruction at the State Technical School ...

's Legiobank Building, Prague (1922–23) * Portrait of Artist's Wife (1923) * Sitting Woman II (1927)

References and sources

;References ;Sources * Metken, G. (1981). ''Realismus: zwischen Revolution und Reaktion, 1919–1939: usstellung im Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 17. Dezember 1980–20. April 1981: Ausstellung in der Staatlichen Kunsthalle, Berlin, 16. Mai-28. Juni 1981''. München: Prestel-Verlag. (German language)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gutfreund, Otto 1889 births 1927 deaths People from Dvůr Králové nad Labem People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czech Jews Czechoslovak sculptors Modern sculptors Cubist artists 20th-century male artists Alumni of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion Deaths by drowning Expatriates from Austria-Hungary in France