Otakar Švec (23 November 1892, 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 ...

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– 3 March 1955, in 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 Prague ...

and

Jan Štursa Jan Josef Štursa (15 May 1880 – 2 May 1925) was a Czechs, Czech sculptor, one of founders of modern Czech sculpture. Birth and studies Štursa was born on 15 May 1880 in Nové Město na Moravě. He studied masonry and sculpture in Hořice an ...

, Švec had produced the important 1924

Futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...

sculpture ''Sunbeam Motorcycle'', now in the

National Gallery in 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 ...

, and at least three major public monuments to

Tomáš Masaryk Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (7 March 185014 September 1937) was a Czechoslovaks, Czechoslovak statesman, political activist and philosopher who served as the first List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 191 ...

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1369 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czechs, Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and t ...

, and

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

. The first two were destroyed by the Germans during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Švec entered the competition for the Stalin Monument in 1949, not expecting to win. The sculpture was unveiled on

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...

, 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 ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

(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

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

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 Artists who died by suicide Place of birth missing 20th-century Czech sculptors 1955 suicides Czech male sculptors