The Thinker - Břetislav Benda

“The Thinker” is one of the truly exceptional sculptures by the Czech academic sculptor Břetislav Benda from the 1920s. In his 1982 monograph Břetislav Benda, Professor Jiří Kotalík describes it as one of the most significant creative achievements of Czech sculpture of that period.

The sculpture was first exhibited at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris in 1925, where Benda’s sculptural work received high acclaim. A certificate of authenticity has been issued for the piece (see photograph).

Břetislav Benda (1897–1983) graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and was a student of the founders of modern Czech sculpture, J. V. Myslbek and Jan Štursa. During his lifetime, he created an extensive body of work – many small sculptures and more than a hundred life-size and larger-than-life sculptures, located in the Czech Republic and abroad. Benda's work can be considered the culmination of Jan Štursa's artistic legacy.

The main theme that sculptor Benda devoted himself to was female figures, especially nudes; he himself was called the sculptor of the female body. He sums it up in his own words: "I know of no motif more beautiful than a woman in all her variations; for a sculptor, she is an inexhaustible subject. Through my sculptures, I want to express the infinite beauty of the human body, but also other human feelings."