Lot 90

Břetislav Benda (1897 - 1983) THE MOTORCYCLIST

The Motorcyclist is an exceptional and prestigious work of Civilism, an art movement celebrating technical advances. Next to Stefan’s Bugatti and Švec’s Motorcyclist, this is another example from the poetry of civilian life in which the theme of sports and competitions takes center stage. The simple modelling of the motorcycle and the rider in the helmet is remarkable.

After studying at the sculpture and stonemasonry school in Hořice, Břetislav Benda attended the Academy of Fine Arts and studied under Josef Václav Myslbek, continuing under Jan Štursa in 1919–1922 following an interruption in his studies due to the war. In 1923 he became a member of the Mánes Union of Fine Artists. Influenced by Otto Gutfruend, he gained experience in social art in the 1920s; otherwise his figurative sculptures, which mainly focus on the female body, are categorized as part of the Neoclassicism movement. He primarily worked with bronze and marble, often for public works. Towards the end of his life he collaborated with his son, Milan Benda (*1941).