Vlasta Prachatická (27 November 1929 – 27 April 2022) was a Czech portrait sculptor, honorary member of the British Society of Portrait Sculptors.

Life

After the war, she spent a year at the Higher Industrial School of Sculpture and Stonemasonry in

Hořice Hořice (; ) is a town in Jičín District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,500 inhabitants. Administrative division Hořice consists of seven municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 censu ...

, where her teacher was Myslbek's pupil Prof. Jaroslav Plichta. In 1946–1951 she studied at the

Academy of Fine Arts in Prague The Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (; AVU) is an art college in Prague, Czech Republic. Founded in 1799, it is the oldest art college in the country. The school offers twelve master's degree programs and one doctoral program. History Starting ...

in the studio of Professor Otakar Španiel. Her graduation ''Portrait of mother'', exhibited in 1951, was purchased by the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

. In 1952 she acquired an apartment in Prague 7, Nad Královskou oborou 23, which she partly used as a studio. In 1953 she married the sculptor

Stanislav Kolíbal Stanislav Kolíbal (born 11 December 1925) is a Czech artist and sculptor. Work His work is counted among the fundamentals of modern Czech art. Since the 1950s, Stanislav Kolíbal has been one of the most notable personalities on the Czech art s ...

. Their daughter Markéta Prachatická (born 1953), is an artist, their son Pavel Kolíbal (born 1956), is an architect. In 1952, she took part in a joint exhibition at the Academy in Berlin and in 1957 in a joint exhibition of five artists in the Aleš Hall of the Umělecká beseda, prepared by the art historian František Matouš. In the 1960s she became a member of the ''UB 12 group'' and exhibited at all its exhibitions until 1965. The members of ''UB 12'' mostly studied at the

Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague The Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (AAAD, , abbreviated VŠUP, also known as UMPRUM) is a public university located in Prague, Czech Republic. The university offers the study disciplines of painting, illustration and graphics, ...

, where prevailed a freer creative spirit than at the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

and their interest in modern art also influenced Vlasta Prachatická. In 1967 she was invited to join an exhibition of five sculptors at the Václav Špála Gallery (Pacík, Zoubek, Kmentová, Vinopalová, Prachatická) and represented

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

at the Sculpture Biennale in Middelheim, Belgium. She won the competition for a portrait of

Jan Masaryk Jan Garrigue Masaryk (14 September 1886 – 10 March 1948) was a Czech diplomat and politician who served as the Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia from 1940 to 1948. American journalist John Gunther described Masaryk as "a brave, honest, turbule ...

for the entrance hall of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

, but after the

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...

the bust was never installed. In 1968 she accompanied

on his study stay in

Vence Vence (; ) is a commune set in the hills of the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France, north of Nice and Antibes on the Mediterranean coast. Ecclesiastical history The first known Bishop ...

. Thanks to Kolíbal's scholarship from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), she spent the years 1988 and 1989 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Thanks to the support of the '' Calder Foundation'', she spent half a year in Saché, France in 1992. Since 2006 she has been an honorary member of the British Society of Portrait Sculptors. Jiří Šetlík, in: Vlasta Prachatická - Portraits, Arbor vitae 2001 Vlasta Prachatická lived and worked in Prague.

Work

Since her student days she has been working on sculptural portraits. Initially, she portrayed well-known people from her surroundings - her mother, her father, her friend, Daisy Mrázek. She started from the classical principles concerning surface modelling as formulated by leading sculptors: Despiau - "even the smallest part of a sculpture's surface must have a life of its own",

Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

- "the sculptor, like the builder, kneads and models light and shadow", or

Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draftsman and printmaker, who was one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century. His work was particularly influenced by artistic styles su ...

- "heads are matter in constant motion, a mutable form, never quite graspable". She avoided psychologising and formal stylisation of portraits, but was aware of the significant relationship between the anatomical structure of the skull and the relief representation of the face, which is an expression of the tension of skin and muscles. She was inspired by the impressionist modelling of

Medardo Rosso Medardo Rosso (; 21 June 1858 – 31 March 1928) was an Italian sculptor. He is considered, like his contemporary and admirer Auguste Rodin, to have been an artist working in a post-Impressionist style. Biography and works Rosso was born in Tur ...

and the balance of Charles Despiau's works, which remain faithful to the subject without suppressing artistic imagery. The closest Czech sculptor to her was Josef Kaplický, whose portrait reflected the legacy of the avant-garde personified by

Otto Gutfreund Otto Gutfreund (3 August 1889 – 2 June 1927) also written Oto Gutfreund, was a Czechoslovak sculptor. After studying art in Prague and Paris, he became known in the 1910s for his sculptures in a cubist style. After his service in the World War ...

. The works of her mature period were inspired by the expressive modelling of Marino Marini and the abstracted conception of portraiture by

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, Drafter, draftsman and Printmaking, printmaker, who was one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century. His work was particularly influenced ...

, based on sensory perceptions and emotional stirrings. The modelling of the face in clay, in particular, lacks luminous qualities and thus affects the likeness of the sitter, while the bronze cast is "too definitive" and at the same time the deadliest. Prachatická therefore prefers the plaster cast, which for her is a real and living original. Moreover, the plaster can be modified or finished with polychromy.Stanislav Kolíbal, in: Vlasta Prachatická - Portraits, Arbor vitae 2001 Consistently working on portraits meant the need to get into the personal background and consider the nature and characteristics of the person being portrayed. This was easier in the case of people with whom she and

were friendly. This circle included the art historian František Matouš, who curated the exhibition of young artists at Umělecká beseda (1957), and his daughter Helena, or the painter Václav Bartovský, one of the founders of ''UB 12''. Prachatická was always keenly interested in modern and classical music and her friends included some well-known musicians and composers (

Pavel Bořkovec Pavel Bořkovec (10 June 1894, in Prague – 22 July 1972, in Prague) was a Czech composer and music teacher. Bořkovec studied at the Prague Conservatory under Josef Suk. From 1946 to 1967 he taught at the Academy of Musical Arts in Prague. ...

, Karel Balling). In an attempt to capture the likeness of a person as truthfully as possible, she returned to some of her portraits several years later. She first modelled a portrait of her uncle, the cellist Karel Pravoslav Sádlo, in 1961, but she later destroyed the study herself and did not reach a final portrait until 1985. Vlasta Prachatická, Maminka I, 1951 (2).jpg, Mother I, 1951 Vlasta Prachatická, PhDr František Matouš III (1955).jpg, PhDr František Matouš, 1955 Vlasta Prachatická, Václav Bartovský, 1959.jpg, Václav Bartovský, 1959 Vlasta Prachatická, Karel Pravoslav Sádlo II (1960).jpg, Karel Pravoslav Sádlo, 1960 Vlasta Prachatická, Portrét otce, 1962 (2).jpg, Portrait of father, 1962 Since the turn of the 1960s and 1970s, when she received some public commissions, it was necessary to model without direct contact with the sitter, only on the basis of documentation. Such assignments included the portrait of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

(Hradec nad Moravicí Castle), Karel Hoffmann, Archbishop of Olomouc Antonín Cyril Stojan or

. Even with the living people she portrayed, she eventually grew tired of the model's stiff expression when sitting in the studio. She preferred to observe people in everyday life and to capture in memory the fleeting facial expressions that give a portrait its natural character. It is the ability to abstract characteristic facial features that makes Vlasta Prachaticka's work unique. Her latest portraits depict mostly people who are no longer alive. For the sculptor, this did not mean a limitation, but rather greater creative freedom. Vlasta Prachatická, Jan Masaryk II (1968).jpg,

, 1968 Vlasta Prachatická, Josef Čapek, 1972 (2).jpg,

Josef Čapek Josef Čapek (; 23 March 1887 – April 1945) was a Czech artist who was best known as a painter, but who was also noted as a writer and a poet. He invented the word "robot", which was introduced into literature by his brother, Karel Čapek. ...

, 1972 Vlasta Prachatická, Bohuslav Martinů II (1978).jpg,

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphony, symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber music, chamber, vocal and ins ...

, 1978 Vlasta Prachatická, Francis Bacon (1985).jpg,

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

, 1985 Vlasta Prachatická, Josef Šíma (1988).jpg,

Josef Šíma Josef Šíma (18 March 1891 – 24 July 1971) was a Czechoslovak modernist painter. Biography After graduating from Academy of Arts in Prague where he was the student of Jan Preisler he was involved in the Devětsil movement and in Umělecká b ...

, 1988

Quote

"I have always been interested only in the human face. However, I am not only concerned with expressing the one to whom it belongs. For a few thousand years, actually, people have been interested in it, and in that time, the external changes are not so obvious. We still find types of some ancient portraits around us. But my point is to express, by all artistic means, the head that belongs to our time."

Realisations

* 1969 Ludwig van Beethoven, Hradec nad Moravicí Castle * 1970 commemorative plaque with bust of

Josef Bohuslav Foerster Josef Bohuslav Foerster (30 December 1859 – 29 May 1951) was a Czech composer and musicologist. He is often referred to as J. B. Foerster, and his surname is sometimes spelled Förster. Life Foerster was born in Prague. His ancestors were of ...

, Wattmanngasse 25, Vienna * 1972 Portrait of Archbishop Stojan, St. Moritz Church, Kroměříž * 1972 commemorative plaque with a portrait of Karel Hoffmann, violinist of the Bohemian Quartet * 1978 portrait of

, foyer of the

National Theatre, Prague The National Theatre () is a historic opera house in Prague, Czech Republic. It is known as the alma mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art. The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural ...

* 1980 Vincenc Kramář, head and memorial plaque, Municipal Library, Mariánské náměstí Prague * 1985 Portrait and memorial plaque of painter Jaroslav Hněvkovský on his family home in Žebrák * 1988 portrait of

, Jaroměř City Museum * 1988 portrait of

, foyer of the National Theatre, Prague * 1997 commemorative plaque with a portrait of

Josef Václav Sládek Josef Václav Sládek (27 October 1845 in Zbiroh – 28 June 1912 in Zbiroh) was a Czech poet, journalist and translator, a member of the literary group , and a pioneer of children's poetry in Czech lands. Life In 1865, he graduated at the Acad ...

, Resslova 5, Prague 2 * 1999 bust of

Jan Palach Jan Palach (; 11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economics at Charles University in Prague. His self-immolation in 1969 at age 20 was a political protest against the end of the Prague Spring resul ...

, Všetaty Primary School * 2006

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...

, bust and memorial plaque, Na Příkopě 16, Prague 1 Vlasta Prachatická, Ludwig van Beethoven, 1969.jpg, Vlasta Prachatická:

, 1969 Vlasta Prachatická, Karel Hoffmann II (1972).jpg, Vlasta Prachatická: Karel Hoffmann, 1972 Gedenktafel für Bohuslav Förster - Wattmanngasse 25.jpg,

Memorial Plaque, Vienna Prague Rilke Memorial plaque 1.JPG, Vlasta Prachatická: memorial plaque of R. M. Rilke, Prague, Na příkopě, 2011 Vlasta Prachatická, Portrét Jana Palacha, 1998.jpg, Vlasta Prachatická: Portrait of

, 1998

Representation in collections

* National Gallery in Prague * Gallery of the Central Bohemian Region in Kutná Hora (formerly ČMVU) * Gallery of the City of Prague * Gallery of Modern Art in Roudnice nad Labem * Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava * Art Gallery Karlovy Vary * Moravian Gallery in Brno * Museum of Art Olomouc * Gallery Klatovy / Klenová

Individual exhibitions

* 1961 Daisy Mrázková, Vlasta Prachatická: Portraits, Gallery on Charles Square, Prague * 1985 Vlasta Prachatická : Portraits, Old Town Hall, Prague City Gallery * 2001 Vlasta Prachatická : Portraits, Veletržní palác, National Gallery in Prague * 2001 Vlasta Prachatická : Portraits, Klenová Castle, Klatovy / Klenová Gallery * 2003 Vlasta Prachatická, Municipal Museum and Gallery, Hořice v Podkrkonoší * 2016 Markéta and Vlasta Prachatická: Portraits and Drawings, 1st Floor Gallery, Prague * 2018 Vlasta Prachatická - Portraits, Museum Kampa, Prague, 27 October 2018 – 20 January 2019Vlasta Prachatická - Portraits, Museum Kampa, Prague, 2018-2019
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Collective exhibitions (selection)

* 1952 Ausstellung Die tschechoslowakische Skulptur, Akademie der Künste, Berlin * 1957 Exhibition of five artists (Prachatická, Kolíbal, Šimotová, John, Burant), Alšova síň Umělecké beseda, Prague 1 * 1967 5 Sculptors, Václav Špála Gallery, Prague * 1971 Contemporary Czechoslovak art, Kuwait * 1987 Czech Portrait 1877 - 1987, Central Bohemia Gallery, Prague * 1994 Focal Points of Rebirth, Municipal Library, Prague * 2015 Women Sculptors: A Selection of Significant Czech and Slovak Sculptors, Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava

References

Sources

* Hynek Glos, Petr Vizina, Stará garda / Old Guard, nakl. Argo, Prague 2016, pp. 56–59, ISBN 978-80-257-1881-0 * Jiří Šetlík: Daisy Mrázková / Vlasta Prachatická, cat. 18 p., Gallery of the Czechoslovak Art Union on Charles Square, Prague 1961 * Vlasta Prachatická: Portraits, 1985, cat. 28 p., GHMP? Prague, Old Town Hall * Václav Boštík et al., UB 12, cat. 41 p., Art Department of Umělecká Beseda (re-established 1990), Prague 1994 * Jiří Šetlík, Stanislav Kolíbal: Vlasta Prachatická - Portraits, Řevnice: Arbor vitae Publishing House, 2001. ISBN 80-86300-23-4

External links

Database of the National Library of the Czech Republic: Vlasta Prachatická

Vlasta Prachatická in the abART information system

Vlasta and Markéta Prachatická exhibit together for the first time, Czech TV24, 2016

Vlasta Prachatická on Artist.cz
* Online exhibition at Art for Good New Life Exhibitions (Ateliers of UB 12 members and their portraits) {{DEFAULTSORT:Prachaticka, Vlasta 1929 births 2022 deaths Czech sculptors Czech artists People from Jičín District