Jan Kotěra: The Myth Between the Local and the Global

book chapter

English

Until recently, readers from the Global North have had, and still have, very limited opportunities to learn something about architect, urban planner, designer, teacher and organizer Jan Kotěra (1871–1923). During his lifetime and shortly after his death, Kotěra occasionally appeared in the international professional press (such as Austria’s Der Architekt or the American Architectural Record). Aside from these contributions, Kotěra’s work was largely absent from Western literature, even posthumously. In 2001, thanks to Vladimír Šlapeta, the extensive and narrative book Jan Kotěra: The Founder of Modern Czech Architecture was published.1 However, it was only partially accessible, as it was released to accompany an exhibition of the same name in Prague’s Municipal House. In 2011, a Berlin publishing house published an English translation of a book first published in 1922 (or more actually, in 1923) by art historian Karel Boromejský Mádl, a former colleague of Kotěra at the School of Applied Arts. This was the only critical biography published during Kotěra’s lifetime, though it is uncertain whether he had the chance to see it. The book was published in early 1923, and Kotěra unexpectedly passed away in April of that year.

Jan Kotěra; modern architecture; modern design; architectural pedagogy; furniture design; architectural history; Wagnerschule

JACKSON, L.; ČAPKOVÁ, H

31. 12. 2024

Pravý úhel

Hradec Králové

978-80-907128-6-7

Jan Kotěra: Czech Modern Architecture in Context

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