The Founder of Modern Czech Architecture 1871-1923

Book excerpt: There are only a few figures in modern Czech art as legendary as the architect Jan Kotera. In his lifetime, Kotera was a symbol of the spirit of modernity, a pivotal role-player in early twentieth-century Czech fine art culture. A student of Otto Wagner, friend of Josef Hoffman and early member of the Viennese Secession, Kotera brought international standards to Czechoslovakia, introducing his country's architects to the work of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright while retaining an interest in folk structures. Some of his most notable structures and designs include the City Museum in Hradec Králové, his own villa and studio in Vinohrady and his housing colony for railway employees in Louny.