Busta Havla in Strasbourg is poorly sculpted

Strasbourg (France) - Mostly positive reactions are reportedly being evoked by the bust of Václav Havel, which was recently unveiled at the headquarters of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. However, several Czech artists criticize the work as sculpturally poorly executed. Many Czechs have not seen the bust in Strasbourg three weeks after its ceremonial presentation. The majority of Czech representatives in the European Parliament (EP), located in the immediate vicinity of the Council of Europe, have not seen it either.
     The Czech ambassador to the Council of Europe, Tomáš Boček, has not recorded any negative feedback regarding the bronze work by sculptor Lubomír Janeček. "The greatest feedback I received was during the unveiling itself, when individual ambassadors, Council of Europe employees, or MPs approached me. All those reactions were positive; everyone liked the shape and representation of the bust," Boček claims, adding that even the head of the organization, Thornbjörn Jagland, who initiated the creation of the bust, rated it positively.
     Boček's opinion, however, is not shared by sculptor Michal Blažek, who initiated a petition against the work and the circumstances of its creation without a selection process. "This portrait is the last straw. It's a third-rate piece of work," Blažek was quoted by Lidové noviny a week ago. The chairman of the Association of Sculptors of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, Jiří Středa, believes that the statue is unsuccessful and lacks expressiveness.
     In contrast, Jiří Kotalík, rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, has previously stated that he considers the bust to be "timeless, artistically honest, and non-pathetically representative."
     The memorial to the Czech ex-president also makes a good impression on MEP Libor Rouček, who is one of the few Czech lawmakers in the EP who has already seen it. "I would not like to assess the sculpture from an artistic perspective; that is not my place. Personally, however, the sculpture has a positive, warm, and human effect on me. I think it corresponds exactly with the real impressions of Václav Havel himself in the past," Rouček remarked, stating that Havel deserves the bust at the Council of Europe for his lifelong fight for democracy, peace, and the unification of the continent.
     After the ceremonial unveiling on October 2nd, the sculpture, financed by the Václav Havel Library, was moved from the atrium to the gallery in front of meeting room number two. In the hallway, which at first glance seems quite deserted, it is positioned next to the bust of the Spanish diplomat and pacifist Salvador de Madariaga. Thus, it can primarily be seen by people attending meetings at the Council of Europe. According to Boček, however, this is not a problem, as the public visiting the Council of Europe also has the opportunity to view the work.
     This is also agreed upon by Christian Democrat MEP Jan Březina. "That space is definitely not second-rate, as there are actually all the founders of the European Union; there are also politicians like Winston Churchill, (Alcide) de Gaspari, (Konrad) Adenauer... So it is in good company." Unlike more than a hundred Czech artists who signed the aforementioned petition, Březina is satisfied with the artistic execution of the bust, which he believes captures Havel well. He would only criticize the signature, which he claims is done in a very illegible manner.
     This is soon to change. According to Boček, Council of Europe employees have promised that shortly they will attach a plaque to the work, making it immediately clear that the depicted personality is Václav Havel.
     The former Czechoslovak and Czech president, whose bust is the first artistic item that the Czech Republic has donated to the Council of Europe, has stood on the organization's ground several times. In May 1990, shortly after being elected Czechoslovak president, he delivered a speech before the Parliamentary Assembly here. In June 1995, he ceremoniously inaugurated the new building of the Palace of Human Rights.
     The Council of Europe was established in May 1949 and currently brings together 47 countries. It primarily aims to promote cooperation among European countries in the field of human rights protection, democracy development, legal system harmonization, and environmental protection.