Sculptor Jaroslav Róna is one of the most significant sculptors whose works can be seen in Prague’s public space.
I think that his sculpture the Reader in an Armchair is the most beautiful statue that was installed in Prague after 1989 – that impression is of course enhanced by the fact that just a few dozen meters from the Reader is the main building of the Prague Municipal Library on Mariánské Square and across the street from it the Clementinum ground, where the National Library is located and until recently there was also an extensive the National Library of Technology.
Where else should the reader sit in the armchair but right there?
Other sculptures by Jaroslav Róna, which we have already mentioned here, were: Franz Kafka, Giraffe, Rhinoceros, and then, of course, a unique “sculpture”, a monument to honor the victims of the Holocaust at the Jewish Cemetery in Žižkov.
Another remarkable sculpture by Jaroslav Róna is the Sitting Lioness at Vyšehrad. It was created as a design for a five-meter sculpture, which was to be placed on Parukářka hill, just a short distance from Vítkov mountain. The theme of the lioness was chosen as a counterweight to the Czech symbol, the two-tailed lion, which symbolically resides on the opposite hill on which Prague Castle is located.
(The distinctive relief on the surface of the statue was originally created for technological reasons – it is a metal skeleton on which the hammered copper plates were to be attached.)
Could Socrates Have Been in Prague?
