High-resolultion photograph(s) Download

Bronze and travertine. Marked below on plinth: “Komárek”. Plate with inscription on base: “PUTOVNÍ CENA MINISTERSTVA NÁRODNÍ OBRANY V SOUTĚŽI 1000 MIL ČESKOSLOVENSKÝCH NEJRYCHLEJŠÍMU ČESKOSLOVENSKÉM JEZDCI NA JEHOŽ VOZIDLE DOMÁCÍ VÝROBY JE POUŽITO NEJMENŠÍ MNOŽSTVÍ SOUČÁSTÍ A PŘÍSLUŠENSTVÍ Z CIZINY.” (Trophy of the Ministry of National Defense in the Czechoslovakia 1000 Race, bestowed to the fastest Czechoslovak racer whose domestic vehicle required the smallest quantity of foreign parts and accessories.) Born in the South Moravian town of Letovice, Komárek was a trained stonemason and graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied under Professor Otakar Španiel. He earned a scholarship from the Hlávka Foundation, which he used to travel to Paris. After returning to Prague he helped establish the Nezávislí (“Independent Artists”) association, which exhibited at the Topič Salon on Národní Třída. He has created monumental statues and large reliefs that celebrate all aspects of human work – laborious, challenging, highly skilled and demanding technical precision. In contrast to this, he also focuses on romantic, lyrical female figures. The pinnacles of his oeuvre are a statue of President Masaryk (1946) for his hometown of Letovice and his masterpieces, a statue of Božena Němcová from 1940 and the sweeping relief “Before the Starting Line” created for the Central Motorist Club in Prague in 1931. His wife left his entire estate of sculptures to the Museum of Česká Lípa.