Jiří Šetlík (2 April 1929 – 28 January 2023) was a Czech art historian, art critic and academic.

Life and career

Born in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, Šetlík was the son of the founder of the pharmaceutical company Ivan Šetlík, a

political dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established Political system, political or Organized religion, religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, a ...

who was condemned to two and a half years in prison for espionage in a

show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...

. The mother was an employee in the administration of the

Czech Philharmonic The Czech Philharmonic () is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. Its principal performing venue is the Rudolfinum concert hall. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title of the orche ...

. Šetlík studied Art History and Aesthetics at

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

, graduating in 1953. After serving three years of military service in the army auxiliary battalions (PTP) as an "enlightenment officer", he got a doctorate in History and Theory of Art at the

Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Czech: ''Československá akademie věd'', Slovak: ''Česko-slovenská akadémia vied'') was established in 1953 to be the scientific center for Czechoslovakia. It was succeeded by the Czech Academy of Science ...

. He then worked at the

National Gallery Prague The National Gallery Prague (, 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 Czech and international fine a ...

until 1964, when he became editor-in-chief of the art magazine ''Výtvarná práca'', which he characterized as a liberal and pluralistic magazine also covering the western art scene. In 1968 he was nominated director of the Museum of Decorative Arts, a role he lost in 1971, when because of the

normalization Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

he was declassed as a low-rank museum employee, being also forbidden to publish anything. Following the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

, Šetlík held several important positions, notably as a lecturer and vice-rector of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design (1993–1996) and head of the Department of Art History at the Faculty of Architecture of the

Technical University of Liberec The Technical University of Liberec () is a university in the city of Liberec, Czech Republic. The university has undergone great transformation in its over sixty-year history. When it was founded, it was called the Institute of Mechanical Engin ...

(1996–2000), and reprised an intense writing activity. He was also a member of the Czech

PEN Club PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internati ...

, and the chairman of the Jindřich Chalupecký Society between 1994 and 2005. Married to actress Zuzana Talpová until her death in 2005, Šetlík died on 28 January 2023, at the age of 93. He was the cousin of artist

Adriena Šimotová Adriena Šimotová (1926–2014) was a prominent Czech artist. Known for her work with paper and fabric, she held numerous exhibitions in the Czech Republic and abroad during her lifetime including a retrospective organized by the National Gallery ...

References

External links

Memory of nations: Jiří Šetlík

Jiří Šetlík
at Biographical Dictionary of the Czech Lands {{DEFAULTSORT:Setlik, Jiri 1928 births 2023 deaths People from Prague Czech art historians Czech art critics Charles University alumni Academic staff of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague Academic staff of the Technical University of Liberec