The Gutfreund statue could return to Škodův palace

Prague - An auction of artworks, which will take place on March 18, is meant to help raise funds for the production of a replica of the sculpture by the famous sculptor Otto Gutfreund. The sculpture, which adorned the building of Prague's Škodův Palace, has been lost, and producing its replica requires four million crowns. The large logo featuring the Škoda winged arrow will be made from an aluminum alloy to make it more durable than the original wooden and copper sheet sculpture, said Eva Heydová from the auction organizers and the initiative to return the sculpture to the building on Jungmannova Street, to ČTK.

The auction will be organized by Artinbox Gallery and Czech National Trust, an organization that brings together patrons supporting the restoration of monuments and the preservation of natural heritage. According to Heydová, the owner of the building will also contribute to funding the production of the replica. The current owner is the investment company GLL Real Estate Partners based in Munich. The Prague city hall is housed in it.

Škodův Palace is a significant late Cubist building constructed between 1925 and 1926. The initiator of the construction was Škoda Works, and the main architect was Pavel Janák, who is also the author of the adjacent Adria Palace. Gutfreund's sculpture was part of the architect's design.

According to experts, the sculpture on the attic of Škodův Palace plays a crucial role in the work of Otto Gutfreund. After the end of World War I, the sculptor was approached for many public commissions that required a more decorative approach to creation, which distracted the author from the possibility of free expression. The work on the sculpture for Škoda Works represented an opportunity for Gutfreund to break free from the already exhausted figurative civilism of the time and to choose innovative solutions drawing on enthusiasm for technology and the aesthetics of machines using real objects, as stated on the Czech National Trust's website.

In designing the composition, the sculptor gradually moved away from working with the figure, the figure of a worker, then an engineer merging with the machine. However, a constant element of all designs always remained the Škoda Works logo in the central position of the composition. The final design, according to which the work was created, then worked with enlarged wheels from the actual production of Škoda Works, and the main motif of the sculpture was framed by two elegantly curved beams.

Eva Heydová told ČTK that the sculpture was made of wood due to its weight and covered with a copper sheet, as a bronze artifact would have been too heavy. However, the material was damaged, and in the 1960s, the sculpture was removed and was supposed to be repaired. By accident, it was then taken to a recycling plant, from which it never returned. However, a model of it still exists, so it is possible to recreate the work.