Josef Mařatka

Place: Prague

Born: 1874

Death: 1937

Biography:

Josef Mařatka was a Czech sculptor born in Prague in 1874. He studied at the School of Applied Arts from 1889 to 1896 under Celda Klouček, a paleontologist and sculptor. In 1899, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied with Josef Václav Myslbek. The following year, he went to Paris and worked briefly in the studios of Auguste Rodin. His first exhibition was held in Prague in 1902. He married Zdeňka Procházková in 1912 and had a son named Zdeněk, who became a prominent gastroenterologist. Mařatka's work was influenced by expressionism, symbolism, Art Nouveau, Antoine Bourdelle, and Neoclassicism. He created thirteen monuments of Czech President Tomáš Masaryk between 1921 and 1926, one of which is in San Francisco. His work was also part of the sculpture event in