Lot 147

Břetislav Benda (1897 - 1983) MEMORY

Sculptor Břetislav Benda graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where he studied under Myslbek and Jan Štursa. During his lifetime he created an extensive oeuvre of more than one hundred life-size and larger-than-life sculptures; the main theme he focused on was the female figure, especially nudes. Benda himself added, “I know of no other motif more beautiful than a woman in all her variations; for sculptors this is an inexhaustible subject. In my sculptures I want to express the infinite beauty of the human body, as well as other feelings.” Memory dates from the late Second World War, 1944, and reflects the feelings of desire and expectation defined by those days. After the country’s liberation the sculpture was executed in life size and placed outdoors. Provenance: artist’s estate; first cast.