Otakar Švec (23 November 1892, Prague-

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– 3 March 1955, Prague) was a Czechoslovak sculptor best known for his colossal granite Monument to Stalin in Prague.

Career

A pupil 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 Pr ...

and Jan Štursa, Švec had produced the important 1924 Futurist sculpture ''Sunbeam Motorcycle'', now in the National Gallery in Prague, and at least three major public monuments to Tomáš Masaryk, Jan Hus, and

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. The first two were destroyed by the Germans during World War II. PomnikStalina-Praga1

Švec entered the competition for the Stalin Monument in 1949, not expecting to win. The sculpture was unveiled on May Day, 1955. Švec, horrified by his own creation, had killed himself days before it was officially unveiled.Stalin statue site reveals chilling remains of Prague labour camp
The Guardian (28 March 2021) This world's largest representation of Stalin, dominating the city, stood for only seven years before the political climate changed. It was brought down in October 1962 with of

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References

Sources

* Figuration/Abstraction: Strategies for Public Sculpture in Europe 1945-1968, by Charlotte Benton
source on a recent show of Švec's work
{{DEFAULTSORT:Svec, Otakar 1892 births 1955 deaths Czechoslovak sculptors Artists from Prague Sculptors who committed suicide Place of birth missing 20th-century sculptors 1955 suicides