Josef Mařatka

Czechoslovakian sculptor Josef Mařatka studied with Josef Václav Myslbek at the School of Applied Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts in Praha. He then moved to Paris to study under Auguste Rodin. Later he made more trips, again to Paris and several times to Italy. He taught as a professor at the Prague School of Arts and Crafts beginning in 1920, and became a member of the Société des Beaux Arts in France and the Czechoslovak Academy of Science and Arts. His works were influenced by the expressionist movement, incorporating elements of Symbolism and Art Nouveau. After World War I Mařatka’s style changed to Neoclassicism with early Socialist Realism.

The bronze figure of the Marathon Runner was created shortly after 1930 and was 25 cm in size. The 66 cm high Athlete was the study for a monument from 1924, which was not implemented in this way. There is a plaster and a bronze version. The Shield was created in 1920, the original title being With the shield or on the shield. The bronze is 26 cm high. In 1914 Mařatka created a series of statuettes on the subject of dance, inspired by Russian actress and dancer Olga Vladimirovna Gzovskaya (1889-1962). This included the Greek Dance. The 25 cm high figure exists in ceramic and bronze. The Rhythmic dance could well be the figure Carstvo lazuré of about the same size.