The decoration of St. Vitus Cathedral was enriched by the statue of Jan Koblasa

Prague - The sculptural decoration of St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle has been enriched by the sculpture of internationally recognized sculptor, painter, and graphic artist Jan Koblasa titled Resurrection. It is located opposite the St. Wenceslas Chapel and was unveiled today in the evening during an ecumenical prayer for the victims of totalitarian regimes.
    By placing the sculpture in one of the most significant symbols of Prague and the Czech Republic, Koblasa stands alongside other prominent artists from the past. One of the last sculptures installed in the cathedral was the statue of St. Agnes - it has been in the cathedral since 1989, the year of her canonization. A large number of artworks were acquired by the cathedral at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries during the completion of the cathedral.
    Koblasa created the four-meter-high and partially gilded bronze sculpture Resurrection in 1981. The subtle stela does not represent an abstract work, but suggests an abstracted human figure. Last year, it was temporarily installed at the Church of St. Giles in Nymburk.
    Already in the 1960s, Koblasa worked for sacred spaces. Together with Mikuláš Medek and Karel Nepraš, he contributed to the renovation of the presbytery of the Church of St. Peter and Paul in Jedovnice. In the 1980s, he realized the statue of St. John of Nepomuk Neumann in the Czech chapel in Washington. This was followed by altars and crucifixes for churches in Norderstedt, Lübeck, Hamburg, and Neumünster. In 2000, he collaborated on the construction of St. Wenceslas Chapel in Bílka near Teplice. For the Stations of the Cross near Kuks, he completed the sculpture Holy Family in 2008.
    Last year, his eightieth birthday was commemorated with a retrospective at Prague Castle and an exhibition of sculptures and graphics from the 1960s in Nuremberg. Since 1982, Koblasa has lived and worked in Hamburg, and he personally attended the unveiling of his sculpture today.
    The ceremonial evening was attended by the rectors of Czech universities and deans of their faculties. The ecumenical prayer was followed by a concert featuring the Requiem of Jean Gilles (1668-1705).