Polibek

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“Polibek” (Kiss) by Josef Mařatka, 1921
Petřínské sady (Giardini di Petřín)
Prague, September 2017

“Josef Mařatka (21 May 1874, Prague – 20 April 1937, Prague) was a Czech sculptor. His father, Wilhelm Mařatka, was a shoemaker. From 1889 to 1896, he studied at the School of Applied Arts under Celda Klouček, who was a paleontologist as well as a sculptor. In 1899, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied with Josef Václav Myslbek. The following year, he went to Paris and was briefly employed in the studios of Auguste Rodin. His first exhibition was held in Prague in 1902. He married Zdeňka Procházková (1890–1980) in 1912. Their son, Zdeněk, became a prominent gastroenterologist. He began by responding to the influences he had absorbed from the expressionist movement, incorporating elements of symbolism and Art Nouveau. His most important work from this period is the Opuštěna Ariadna (Abandoned Ariadne, 1903). He later came under the influence of Antoine Bourdelle. After World War I, he returned to the styles he had learned from Myslbek, combining Neoclassicism with a bit of early Socialist Realism; for example, ‘Praha svým vítězným synům’ (Prague's Victorious Sons) at the Emmaus Monastery. The monument was destroyed during the German Occupation and restored in 1998. After 1920, he worked as a Professor at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design.” (Josef Mařatka, Wikipedia)