Josef Václav Myslbek
Illustration — J. Myslbek, by Jan Vilímek (1883) Josef Václav Myslbek (20 June 1848 – 2 June 1922) was a Czech sculptor and medalist credited with founding the modern Czech sculpting style. He was born and did much of his work when the area was Bohemia.
Also recorded as Josef Vaclav Myslbek
Josef Václav Myslbek

Jan Vilímek · Humoristické listy, roč. 1883, č. 41, digitized by Czech Academy of Sciences · Public domain
- Born
- 1848 · Prague.
- Died
- 1922 · Prague.
- Nationality
- Austria–Hungary
- Occupation
- sculptor · teacher
- Education
- Academy of Fine Arts and Prague
- Teachers
- Tomáš Seidan · Josef Matyáš Trenkwald · Ernst Julius Hähnel
- Known for
- Statue of St. Wenceslaus
- Honours
- Order of Franz Joseph · Decoration for Art and Science (Austria-Hungary)
- Languages
- Czech
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Illustration — J. Myslbek, by Jan Vilímek (1883) Josef Václav Myslbek (20 June 1848 – 2 June 1922) was a Czech sculptor and medalist credited with founding the modern Czech sculpting style. He was born and did much of his work when the area was Bohemia.
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wikipedia incomplete · checked 25 September 2026
- Identity
- resolved
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Authority files
wikidata · Q980407 · wikipedia · Josef Václav Myslbek
In this article
Life
Life
Josef Václav Myslbek studied at Academy of Fine Arts, Prague. Training under Tomáš Seidan, Josef Matyáš Trenkwald and Ernst Julius Hähnel is recorded. Břetislav Benda is recorded as having studied under Josef Václav Myslbek. The recorded working language is Czech. Places of work recorded in the authority are Germany. Employment is recorded with Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague and Academy of Fine Arts, Prague. Positions recorded include Member of the House of Lords (Austria). Works named in the authority record are Statue of St. Work by Josef Václav Myslbek is recorded in the collections of Belvedere. Distinctions recorded are Order of Franz Joseph and Decoration for Art and Science (Austria-Hungary).
Josef grew up poor in a suburb of Prague. His family pushed him to become a shoemaker but he shirked the duty by getting a job with a succession of Czech sculptors. There was no school program for sculpting so he studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague instead. Afterwards he opened his own sculpting studio. He became greatly inspired by the French sculpting style as well as related arts such as photography and literature. Josef Václav Myslbek influenced an entire generation of Czech sculptors and his students include Stanislav Sucharda, Jan Štursa and Bohumil Kafka. Myslbek is buried in Prague's National Cemetery.
Works
Works
• Illustration — Statue of Saint Wenceslas, Wenceslas Square (2013) Myslbek's most famous work is the Statue of Saint Wenceslas, which is located in the center of Wenceslas Square. It took him over 20 years to complete but has since become one of Prague's most recognizable landmarks and a symbol of Czech statehood. In 1871, Myslbek produced some of his greater works including a commission to do a set of statues for the National Theater. Later he would do busts and monuments of several famous Czechs such as Bedřich Smetana and František Palacký. His four pairs of statues for the Palacký Bridge have been relocated to the Vyšehrad: • Libuše and Přemysl, depicts Přemysl, the Ploughman and Libuše • Lumír and Píseň, depicts Lumír (a legendary bard) and Píseň ("song") • Záboj and Slavoj, heroic brothers from the "Rukopis královédvorský" • Ctirad and Šárka, characters from The Maidens' War, a traditional Bohemian tale

Portrét Josefa Václava Myslbeka od Jana Vilímka.
Jan Vilímek (1860–1938) · National Library of the Czech Republic
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1848–1922
The full dated record · 10 entries
1848
Josef Václav Myslbek born at Prague.
1885
bust of František Palacký is dated 1885.
1888
Lumír and Píseň is dated 1888.
1889
Libuše and Přemysl is dated 1889.
1892
Záboj and Slavoj is dated 1892.
1895
Ctirad and Šárka is dated 1895.
1911
Statue of Karel Hynek Mácha at Petřín is dated 1911.
1911
Statue of St. Wenceslaus is dated 1911.
1913
Statue of František Ladislav Rieger in Riegrovy sady is dated 1913.
1922
Josef Václav Myslbek died at Prague.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q980407: Josef Václav Myslbek
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
- “Josef Václav Myslbek”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority file
Partially resolvedreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q980407: Josef Václav MyslbekWikimedia Foundation
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Sculpture
6,174 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Josef MüllnerArtist
- Josef PallenbergArtist
- Josef SchagerlArtist
- Josef ThorakArtist
- Josef Wagner the YoungerArtist
- Josefina AlbarracínArtist
- Josefina de VasconcellosArtist
- Josep Clarà i AyatsArtist
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