Stanislav Libenský
Czech, 1921 - 2002Jaroslava Brychtová
Czech, 1924 - 2020Blue Pyramid, 1994
Not on view
Cast glass
Dimensions33 × 47 × 11 1/2 in., 550 lb. (83.8 × 119.4 × 29.2 cm, 249.5 kg)
Courtesy of the Isabel Foundation, L2017.70
After the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948, the government began to enforce strict rules on artistic expression. Modern styles like Cubism were dismissed and idealized art that depicted strong Communist principles became the only acceptable form of expression. While the subjects that painters and sculptors depicted were required to serve the political regime, glass artists were not as artistically repressed. Glass was considered a functional and ornamental medium, so artists like Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová not only retained creative freedom, they gained commissions for numerous public spaces.
