Emil Kotrba

Emil Kotrba (born February 22, 1912 in Znojmo , † February 21, 1983 in Prague ) was a Czech painter, graphic artist and draftsman. Kotrba was considered one of the world's best horse painters in the 1960s and 1970s. The artist lived as a freelance painter and graphic artist in Prague until his death. He is buried in the cemetery in Prague-Dejvice U Matěje.

Life

Kotrba is the son of a tanner in Znojmo. From 1927 he studied at the arts and crafts school for graphics with Petr Dillingr in Brno. He was particularly interested in the anatomy of animal bodies. Therefore, as an external student, he attended lectures on animal anatomy with Kolda at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Brno , where he met the university teachers Karl Pardubský and Antonín Hruza. Pardubský was also the one who supported him financially when Kotrba studied from 1931 to 1937 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague with Professor Tavik František Šimon.

It was at this time that Kotrba met the painter Max Švabinský , who became his mentor for many years. In 1936 he was named the best student at the art academy.

After his studies, Kotrba went on educational trips to Italy, Germany and France. After his return he taught drawing and in particular life drawing at the Rotter Technical School for Advertising in Prague . From 1942 he worked as a freelance artist in Prague.

In 1941 he married Jana, b. Drvotová, and had son Jan in 1945 and daughter Daniela in 1951.

For many years Kotrba was an active rider, trainer and referee at equestrian events with contacts at stud farms, agricultural and breeding facilities and stadiums in Bohemia , Moravia and Slovakia .

job

During his study trips and stays on stud farms, he made hundreds of sketches as well as large oil paintings , watercolors , drawings, gouaches and woodcuts . With the woodcut, Kotrba embarked on the artistic path. Although he remained loyal to this technique all his life, his impulsive character is particularly suited to the technique of lithography . Lithographic works with the motif of the horse show Kotrba's personal touch most clearly. The expression and the movements of the horses reflect the human moods and sensations: love, motherly love, hate, passion, affection, rivalry, grief, fear of death, etc. His work includes more than 900 - often multicolored - lithographs. Kotrba is one of the most important Czech artists for ex-libris . He must have created more than 750 ex-libris. With this art technique he became known in Europe.

At the Spanish Riding School he made drawings of the six Lipizzaner stallion lines.

Kotrba was a longtime illustrator for the magazine “Our Breeding”. He became the author of posters and invitations to events such as riding days, animal exhibitions and horse races.

Exhibitions

Kotrba had his first exhibition in Znojmo in 1933, and later often in Prague. Exhibitions abroad were u. a. in: Antwerp, Amsterdam, Brussels, Cannes, Celle, Hamburg, Helsinki, Leipzig, London, Padua, Paris, Rome, St. Niklaas-Waas, Stockholm, Vilnius, Vienna and in many other cities.

Awards

• 1943: Association of Czech graphic artists Hollar ; First prize for his series of lithographs on the Aeneid of Virgil.
• 1969: Pešin Medal from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Brno.
• 1978: Taufer Medal from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Brno.

literature

• Guus Willemsen, horse bookplate, 1993, Verlag Claus Wittal, Wiesbaden, ISBN 3-922835-10-4
• Gerhard Kreyenberg, ex-libris for doctors, 1983, Deutscher Ärzte-Verlag Cologne, ISBN 3-7691-9300-8
• Antoine Rousseau, Graphia, Bulletin 65, 1975-1, Brussels
• František Dvořák, contemporary ex-libris, 1979, Odeon, Prague
• Ruda Klinkovsky, female nudes in ex-libris by Emil Kotrba, 1969, Ruda Svech v Grafii, Gottwaldov

Web links

• Emil Kotrba (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lipizzaner network, Anke Lipke and Florian Gatterdam: Lipizzaner network - the stallion lines of the Lipizzaner Retrieved May 1, 2017 .