Databáze uměleckých výstav v českých zemích 1820 – 1950

The sudden death of Jan Štursa (May 2, 1925) came as shock to the Czechoslovak art world. The news about the passing of this prominent Czech sculptor and pedagogue prompted a series of commemorative events aiming to evaluate his oeuvre from an art-historical perspective. The art critic Bohumil Markalous was the first to draw attention to Štursa’s artistic legacy in his lecture Jan Štursa, jeho život a dílo (Jan Štursa, His Life and Work; Olomouc, February 1926). That same year, the Mánes Association also remembered its long-time member through a posthumous exhibition. It was followed by two monographs by Antonín Matějček (1926) and Břetislav Palkovský (1926), in which the late sculptor was presented as a continuator of the sculptural tradition started by Josef Václav Myslbek and an artist deserving a leading place in the national pantheon.  

The retrospective was opened in the refectory of Prague’s Klementinum exactly one year after the sculptor’s death on May 2, 1926. According to the original plans, the exhibition was to close at the end of July but it was extended until the beginning of October. The artworks were selected by an exhibition committee that consisted of Štursa’s friends and colleagues, as well as his former students, which significantly influenced the show’s final form. Most of the presented works came from the sculptor’s studio at the Academy of Fine Arts and were incorporated into the exhibition as memorabilia of sorts evoking personal memories of the organizers.  Václav Vilém Štech, for example, mentioned in his catalogue introduction that he was deeply moved by the success of Melancholic Girl (1906), which the Modern Gallery purchased for its collection in 1907 [Štech 1926, p. 10]. The central space in the Klementinum refectory was devoted to the bronze nudes Puberty (1905), Primavera (1907), Sulamit Rahu (1910–1911), Messalina (1912–1913) and The Gift of Heaven and Earth (1918), arranged in a stately semicircle in the middle of the room. These sculptures represented milestones in Štursa’s professional career, and their style and subject matter influenced a younger generation of sculptors. Štursa’s oeuvre developed from the poetic description of the adolescent female body via the representation of female maturity in expressive movement to stylized form and dramatic gestures. The sculptor's shifting perception of the human form was reflected in his choice of material, as evidenced by the two versions of Puberty, one in bronze (1905) and the other in marble (c. 1924). Representing the same subject in different materials allowed Štursa to deepen the idea of the mental and physical transformation from girl to woman in a sculptural way. The organizers included these variations in different materials to facilitate the art-historical evaluation of Štursa’s work, but they also helped sell the artworks.  Visitors could buy originals, reproductions or smaller copies in the different materials.

The room adjoining the refectory housed works on paper, which held a special position in Štursa’s oeuvre. He created preparatory studies for his sculptures but during the war, drawing became his exclusive artistic medium. Using reportage-style sketches, he captured life on the front line and in the countryside, which culminated in the sculpture Wounded (1916–1921), the highlight of his oeuvre.

While the first sketches depicted wounded soldiers falling to the ground, the subject lost its authenticity when translated into three-dimensional form. The sculptor focused more on bodily proportions and the bold composition of the falling man to create a universal symbol - an allegorical depiction of the misery and suffering of war. Štursa himself later prepared one hundred drawings for publication, attesting to the special place drawing had in his work. The same choice of drawings then appeared in the monograph by Břetislav Palkovský, who placed Štursa’s drawing in the broader art-historical context.

The juxtaposition of works on paper with sculptures in the exhibition illustrated the indisputable qualities of Štursa’s work. The two media complemented each other in terms of subject matter, but were not necessarily dependent on each other, as evident in the case of Wounded. The drawings also testified to the number of ideas that remained on paper only. Contemporary critics commented on Štursa’s “creative tirelessness.” One of the anonymous reviewers marvelled at the “astonishing body of work stemming from artistic temperament, the love for the object, for matter tortured and exalted” and at the result: compositionally and visually perfect artworks [nn. 1926, p. 7]. Other reviews mentioned the “forest of statues and statuettes" that flooded the Klementinum refectory to the point of confusion. [Harlas 1926, p. 7] Despite these minor criticisms of the crowded exhibition spaces, none of the critics denied the importance of Štursa’s creative and pedagogical work. Štursa left behind major commissioned memorials, portraits of prominent figures and individual sculptures. The exhibition brought these key artworks together in what became the first demonstration of Štursa’s role as an inspiring mentor for Czech sculpture. Because of its extensiveness, the show was etched in the minds of the interwar generation, which in the 1930s and 1940s continued to build on his work and its evocative depiction of bodily movement.

Martina Bezoušková

Works Cited

Štech 1926: Václav Vilém Štech, Vzpomínka na Jana Štursu, in: Kamil Novotný – Václav Vilém Štech, CVI. výstava P.  V. U. Mánes v Praze. Jan Štursa 1880–1925 (exh. cat.), SVU Mánes, Praha 1926, pp. 9–21

nn. 1926: nn., Umění. Refektář v Klementinu, Čech LI, 1926, 25. 5., no. 126, p. 7

Harlas 1926: František Xaver Harlas, Výstavy, Zvon XXVI, 1926, no. 35, p. 504

Further Reading

Antoine Bourdelle, Nad Janem Štursou, Volné směry XXIV, 1926, no. 1, p. 33

Antonio Muñoz, Uno scultore cecoslovacco: Jan Štursa, Dedalo VII, 1926–1927, no. 1, pp. 50–70

Petr Hartmann, Jan Štursa 1880–1925 (exh. cat.), Severočeská galerie výtvarného umění v Litoměřicích, Litoměřice 1978

Antonín Matějček, Jan Štursa. Dílo, Praha 1926

Antonín Matějček, Poslední práce Jana Štursy, Volné směry XXIV, 1926, no. 1, pp. 17–31

Antonín Matějček, Za Janem Štursou, Volné směry XXIV, 1926, no. 1, pp. 4–15

Josef Lev Nerad, Kresby Jana Štursy, Praha 1941

Vladimír Novotný, Výstava životního díla sochaře Jana Štursy (exh. cat.), Praha 1950

Břetislav Palkovský, Jan Štursa. Kresby I, Praha 1926

Vojtěch Josef Volavka, Jan Štursa (exh. cat.), Galerie Jop.  R. Vilímek, Praha 1941

Petr Wittlich, Jan Štursa, Praha 2008

Jiří Mašín, Jan Štursa 1880–1925, geneze díla, Praha 1981

Archival Sources

Prague City Archives, fonds Spolek výtvarných umělců Mánes no. 1349, Výstavní činnost, Jan Štursa (posmrtná) 1926 no. 4103 [Mánes Fine Arts Association no. 1349, Exhibitions, Jan Štursa (posthumous exhibition) 1926 no. 4103], link at: http://katalog.ahmp.cz/pragapublica/NavigBean.action?eventNavigPager=&_sourcePage=VFUqKx5e7xB5b4N9Xk8R89pOGoZm0s8Rzf0ZzbXJaI3oTSpViThtYvNg-oOHacx-BLDmyS-Yy2WFKdnEKtLtCa1PEJ-5oUs6&rowPg=145

Archive of the National Gallery Prague, fonds Jan Štursa (1880–1925), Fotografie, Posmrtná výstava J. Štursy [Photographs, Posthumous exhibition of J. Štursa], acq. no. AA 3129, AA 3273, AA 4083, file no. 5

Archive of Fine Arts, z. s., Kostelec nad Černými lesy (Praha-východ), fonds P. V.U. Mánes, S 68387

Archive of Fine Arts, z. s., Kostelec nad Černými lesy (Praha-východ), fonds Klementinum, refectory, G 68387

Anonymous author, Dílo o Janu Štursovi, Národní listy LXVI, 1926, 25. 3., no. 84, p. 10

Anonymous author, Jana Štursy posmrtná výstava v Klementinu, Venkov XXI, 1926, 19. 9., no. 222, p.  8

Anonymous author, Monografie o Štursovi, Lidové noviny XXXIV, 1926, 19. 3., no. 143, p. 7

Anonymous author, Posmrtná výstava Štursova v Praze, Večer XIII, 1926, 30. 4., no. 100, p.  1

Anonymous author, Posmrtná výstava Jana Štursy, Národní listy LXVI, 1926, 29. 8., no. 236, p. 4

Anonymous author, Posmrtná výstava Jana Štursy, Světozor XXVI, 1925–1926, no. 18, p. 347

Anonymous author, Posmrtná výstava Jana Štursy, Venkov XXI, 1926, 29. 8., no. 204, p. 8

Anonymous author, Souborná výstava díla Jana Štursy, Lidové noviny XXXIV, 1926, 4. 8., no. 388, p. 8

Anonymous author, Souborná výstava díla Jana Štursy (v refektáři Klementina proti Karlovu mostu), Národní listy LXVI, 1926, 11. 7., no. 187, p. 9

Anonymous author, Štursova výstava, Národní listy LXVI, 1926, 6. 6., no. 154, p. 9; 26. 9., no. 264, p. 5; 19. 9., no. 257, p. 13

Anonymous author, Štursova výstava v Klementinu, Národní listy LXVI, 1926, 3. 10., no. 271, p. 9

Anonymous author, Výstava Jana Štursy, Lidové noviny XXXIV, 1926, 14. 8., no. 404, p. 7

Anonymous author, Výtah z jednatelské zprávy P.  V. U. Mánes za rok 1925, Volné směry XXIV, 1926, no. 1, pp. 116–117

Anonymous author, Z činnosti S.V.U. Mánes, Výtvarné snahy VII, 1926, no. 3–4, p. 84

Anonymous author, Z týdne. Co nového u nás…V Praze pořádá se umělecká výstava akademického sochaře J. Štursy, Rozkvět XIX, 1926, no. 19, p. 6

Anonymous author, Zahájení posmrtné výstavy Jana Štursy, Lidové noviny XXXIV, 1926, 3. 5., no. 223, p. 3

Anonymous author, Zprávy za únor–červen. Jan Štursa byl po zásluze oslaven ,,Mánesem“, Dílo XIX, 1926, no. 4, pp. 30–31

Anonymous author, Životní dílo Jana Štursy, Lidové noviny XXXIV, 1926, 22. 6., no. 313, p. 8; 23. 6., no. 315, p. 8; 24. 6., no. 317, p. 8; 25. 6., no. 319, p. 8; 26. 6., no. 321, p. 10; 27. 6., no. 323, p. 10; 1. 7., no. 329, p. 8

Pavel z Budče, Výstava Štursova díla v Klementinu, Venkov XXI, 1926, 25. 5., no. 123, p.  1

čch. [Čeněk Chyský], K jarní posmrtné výstavě Jana Štursy, Lidové noviny XXXIV, 1926, 18. 2., no. 88, p.  7

čch. [Čeněk Chyský], Přestavba Klementina, Pestrý týden I, 1926, 1. 12., no. 5, p.  8

čch. [Čeněk Chyský], Štursovo rodiště na výstavě jeho životního díla, Lidové noviny XXXIV, 1926, 4. 6., no. 280, p.  7

František Xaver Harlas, Výstavy, Zvon XXVI, 1926, no. 36, p. 504

Jč, Posmrtná výstava Štursova, Lidové noviny XXXIV, 1926, 12. 5., no. 240, p.  7

Zdeněk Wirth, K výstavě Jana Štursy, Volné směry XXIV, 1926, no. 1, p. 169