Lot 88

Ladislav Beneš (1883 - 1956) SPEED, STRENGTH, RESISTANCE

Sculptor Ladislav Beneš, together with Jan Štursa and Otakar Španiel, can unquestionably be included among the most important exponents of their generation, applying a new understanding of classicism to their work. Beneš composed the sculpture, which was commissioned by the Czechoslovak Ministry of National Defense, in the spirit of a new philosophy as an allegory of movement as represented by female nudes of Speed, Strength and Resistance. The modern era can also be sensed from the automobile, from which the towering sculpted figures are thrust forward.

Ladislav Beneš, who studied under Professors Celda Klouček and Stanislav Sucharda, was a member of the Mánes Union of Fine Artists in 1907–1934  and Umělecká Beseda from 1911. Although unfairly forgotten in his home country, his work has been exhibited in Cologne, Zagreb, Belgrade, Ljubljana, Munich and Vienna.