Josef Mařatka

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Czech. (January 2021) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Czech Wikipedia article at [[:cs:Josef Mařatka]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|cs|Josef Mařatka}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

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,^[1] 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.^[1] His first exhibition was held in Prague in 1902. He married Zdeňka Procházková (1890–1980) in 1912. Their son, Zdeněk [cs], 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.^[2] 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.

Between 1921 and 1926, he created thirteen monuments of various sizes, honoring Czech President, Tomáš Masaryk, one of which is in San Francisco. His work was also part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics.^[3]

• Josef Mařatka: Vzpomínky a záznamy (Memories and Records), introduction by Petr Wittlich, Prague, Karolinum, 2003, ISBN 80-246-0518-X
• Josef Mařatka : 1874-1937, exhibition catalog, Gottwald Regional Art Gallery, 1989
• Josef Mařatka, introduction by Jaromír Pečírka, Prague, Mánes Union of Fine Arts, Melantrich, 1942

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Josef Mařatka.

• Events of the Day (Událost Dne) Brief Biography with comments from Mařatka's grandson, the composer Kryštof Mařatka [fr]
• Muzeum Moderního Umĕní, Mařatka's "Deserted Ariadne" (in English)
• Galerie Plastik Hořice Mařatka's memorial for the actress Hana Kvapilová. An appreciation by Jana Cermanová.
• List of works relating to Mařatka in the National Library of the Czech Republic [1]