At the end of the nineteenth century, Czech figural sculpture achieved an artistic quality comparable to that of contemporary artworks produced in the main artistic centers of Europe, including the sculptures of Auguste Rodin, Constantin Meunier, and Antoine Bourdelle. But while their counterparts across Europe achieved lasting international renown, Czech sculptors remain relatively unknown. Published to accompany an exhibition at the Prague City Gallery, The Restless Figure shapes a new understanding of these artists’ stories.

Tracing the development and significance of Czech sculpture through period texts and images that illustrate the intellectual milieu of the times, the book shows that while Czech artists were directly influenced by the Prague exhibitions of world-famous sculptors, it was their own work that drove the development of Prague’s dynamic art. In particular, sculptor Josef Václav Myslbek—together with younger artists like František Bílek, Stanislav Sucharda, and others—helped to fashion the public space of a modernizing Prague thorough commissions. Featuring many photographs from the sculptors’ estates that offer a unique view of individual works through the eyes of their creators, this book opens a beautiful window onto the history of both a city and an art form.

Sandra Baborovská is an art curator at Prague City Gallery. Petr Wittlich is professor at the Institute of Art History at Charles University Prague, and the author of many books on Czech art history. Phil Jones is a translator of Czech into English.