Myslbek, Josef Václav

Born June 20, 1848, in Prague; died there June 2, 1922. Czech sculptor.

Myslbek studied at the studio of Václav Levy and at the Academy of Arts in Prague. From 1885 to 1896 he was a professor at the School of Decorative Arts and from 1896 to 1919 at the Academy of Arts, both in Prague. He created lofty monumental sculptures of Czech historical figures and of epic folk heroes; his works combine symbolic generalization with realistic elements (model of a monument to J. Žižka for the city of Tábor, bronze, executed in the 1870’s; sculptural groups on the Palacký Bridge in Prague, bronze, 1881–97). Myslbek’s most important work was the monument to St. Václav in Prague (bronze; unveiled in 1913). Myslbek also sculpted numerous busts.