Matěj Rejsek or Matthias Rejsek (around 1445,

Prostějov Prostějov (; ) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is historically known for its fashion industry. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zo ...

– 1 July 1506,

Kutná Hora Kutná Hora (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. The history of Kutná Hora is linked to silver mining, which made it a rich and rapidly developing town. The centre of Kutná Hora, i ...

) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

stonemason, sculptor, builder and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

of the Late Gothic style.

Life

Matěj Rejsek was born probably in 1445 in Prostějov (either in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

or in

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

). As a young man he came to Prague to study at the

Faculty of Arts A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

at the

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

. He finished his studies in 1469 as a bachelor and became the rector and teacher at the parish school of the Church of Our Lady before Týn in the

Old Town of Prague The Old Town of Prague (, ) is a medieval settlement of Prague, Czech Republic. It was separated from the outside by a semi-circular moat and wall, connected to the Vltava river at both of its ends. The moat is now covered up by the streets (fro ...

. He built some houses in Prague. One of his most famous works is the Powder Tower which was built as a representative gate of the Old Town of Prague after 1475. Matěj Rejsek became the main builder of the tower in 1478. His work was inspired by Petr Parler's work. In 1489 he moved to

where he worked at the completion of the St. Barbara's Church. Rejsek began to build the outer supporting system, triforium and vaulting. The net vault of the presbytery was completed in 1499. He died on 1 July 1506 in Kutná Hora and was buried in the St. Barbara's Church.

Works

* Marble

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

for

utraquist Utraquism (from the Latin ''sub utraque specie'', meaning "under both kinds"), also called Calixtinism (from chalice; Latin: ''calix'', borrowed from Greek ''kalyx'', "shell, husk"; Czech: ''kališníci''), was a belief amongst Hussites, a pre-P ...

Bishop Jan Rokycana in the Church of Our Lady before Týn in the

(1470) – not preserved * Funeral

baldachin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from ), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent Architecture, architectural feature, particularly over Alta ...

for Italian Catholic Bishop Augustine Lucian of Mirandola in the Church of Our Lady before Týn * Powder Gate () 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 ...

, statues and decoration cut in sandstone (1478–1483) * Upper part of

triforium A triforium is an interior Gallery (theatre), gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, o ...

and vault of choir of St. Barbara's Church, Kutná Hora (1489–1506) * Pulpit in the St. Lawrence Church in Kaňk near Kutná Hora (1504) * Pulpit with statues of four signs of evangelists, in the St. Batholomew Church in

Rakovník Rakovník (, ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative division Rakovník consists o ...

in Central Bohemia (1504) * Town Hall in Kutná Hora (after 1490) – not preserved Probably created by Matěj Rejsek: * Statue of a mythic knight Bruncvík with a lion (Roland statue) at the

Charles Bridge Charles Bridge ( , ) is a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the early 15th century.; The bridge replaced ...

in the

Lesser Town of Prague Lesser, from Eliezer (, "Help/Court of my God"), is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Adolf Lesser (1851–1926), German physician * Aleksander Lesser (1814–1884), Polish painter and art critic * Anton Lesser (born 1952), Br ...

, damaged in 1648, since 1875 placed in the Lapidarium of the National Museum in Prague * Stone fountain in Kutná Hora (1495)

References

Literature

*Michaela OTTOVÁ: Pod ochranou Krista Spasitele a svaté Barbory. Sochařská výzdoba kostela sv. Barbory v Kutné Hoře (1483–1499). Praha 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rejsek, Matej 1440s births 1506 deaths 15th-century people from Bohemia Stonemasons People from Prostějov Czech architects Gothic architects Charles University alumni