Jan Kotera
Encyclopedia
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
architect, artist and interior designer, and one of the key figures of modern architecture in Bohemia.
Biography
Kotěra was born in Brno, the largest city in MoraviaMoravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
, to Czech father and German-speaking mother. He studied architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
in Vienna during the waning days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, under the Viennese master Otto Wagner
Otto Wagner
Otto Koloman Wagner was an Austrian architect and urban planner, known for his lasting impact on the appearance of his home town Vienna, to which he contributed many landmarks.-Life:...
.
Kotěra returned to Prague in 1897 to help found a dynamic movement of Czech nationalist artists and architects centered around the Mánes Union of Fine Arts
Mánes Union of Fine Arts
The Manes Association of Fine Artists was an artists' association and exhibition society founded in 1887 in Prague and named after the painter Josef Mánes....
. Strongly influenced by the work of the Vienna Secession
Vienna Secession
The Vienna Secession was formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian artists who had resigned from the Association of Austrian Artists, housed in the Vienna Künstlerhaus. This movement included painters, sculptors, and architects...
, his work bridged late nineteenth century architectural design and early modernism. Kotěra collaborated with Czech sculptors Jan Štursa
Jan Štursa
Jan Štursa was a Czech sculptor, one of founders of modern Czech sculpture.- Birth and studies :...
, Stanislav Sucharda
Stanislav Sucharda
Stanislav Sucharda , Czech sculptor and professor at the Prague School of Applied Arts from 1899, and a leading figure in the Mánes Union of Fine Arts Stanislav Sucharda (1866–1916), Czech sculptor and professor at the Prague School of Applied Arts from 1899, and a leading figure in the Mánes Union...
, and Stanislav's son Vojtěch Sucharda
Vojtech Sucharda
Vojtěch Sucharda ) was a Czech sculptor, woodcarver and puppeteer.Sucharda was the founder of Prague's Ríše Loutek Theater in 1920, and he is known for restoring the wooden figures of the apostles on the Prague Astronomical Clock, which had been heavily damaged by enemy fire in mid-May 1945...
on a number of buildings.
As a teacher, Kotěra trained the generation of Czech architects, including Josef Gočár
Josef Gocár
Josef Gočár , was a Czech architect, one of the founders of modern architecture in Czechoslovakia....
, who would bring Czech modernism to its pinnacle in the years leading up to the Nazi occupation in 1939.
Works
- Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec KrálovéHradec KrálovéHradec Králové is a city of the Czech Republic, in the Hradec Králové Region of Bohemia. The city's economy is based on food-processing technology, photochemical, and electronics manufacture. Traditional industries include musical instrument manufacturing – the best known being PETROF pianos...
, (1908–1912) - Peterka House, 12 Wenceslas SquareWenceslas SquareWenceslas Square is one of the main city squares and the centre of the business and cultural communities in the New Town of Prague, Czech Republic. Many historical events occurred there, and it is a traditional setting for demonstrations, celebrations, and other public gatherings...
, PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
(1899–1900) - Villa of Tomáš BaťaTomáš BataTomáš Baťa was a Czech entrepreneur, founder of Bata Shoes company, one of the world's biggest multinational retailers, manufacturers and distributors of footwear and accessories.-Career:...
in ZlínZlínZlín , from 1949 to 1989 Gottwaldov , is a city in the Zlín Region, southeastern Moravia, Czech Republic, on the Dřevnice River. The development of the modern city is closely connected to the Bata Shoes company... - Faculty of Law at Charles University in Prague (1924–1927)
- Two monuments for members of the Perutz family at the New Jewish CemeteryNew Jewish CemeteryThe New Jewish Cemetery in Prague was established in 1891 to relieve the space problem at the Old Jewish Cemetery, Prague. It is about 10 times bigger than the Old Jewish Cemetery and provides space for approximately 100 000 graves, therefore having the capacity to serve for a whole century...