Valentin Hrdlička

After learning ornamental woodcarving in Valašské Meziříčí, Valentin Hrdlička studied figural and ornamental drawing at Prague’s School of Applied Arts. After completing his studies in 1903, attended professor Jan Kotěra’s special course in decorative architecture at the same school. Upon graduating in 1906, he apprenticed in the Prague drafting studios of architects Alois Dryák, Osvald Polívka, Alois Čenský and Bedřich Bendlmayer. Thanks to a recommendation from his former teacher Kotěra, in March 1907 Hrdlička found work in Dušan Jurkovič’s studio in Brno, and in 1911 he opened his own drafting office in Brno-Žabovřesky. In 1912 Hrdlička founded the Jizba company in Brno, an architecture and applied art studio that exhibited models of elegantly furnished apartments alongside designer souvenirs and toys. The salon he hosted in his home was a meeting place for artists such as Leoš Janáček, Jiří Mahen and Josef Blatný, among others. Hrdlička also published his work in various magazines, including Český interieur, Das Interieur, Tischlermeister, Der Architect, Veraikon, Světozor, Rozkvět and The Studio Magazine. In 1919 he was elected president of the Aleš Club of Fine Artists, for which he designed an exhibition pavilion on Žerotínovo náměstí in 1923. As the association’s president and, he was actively involved in its activities until 1945, which somewhat limited his work as an architect. In April 1921, he became a contractual architect for the Moravian Provincial Political Administration in Brno, where he was in charge of interior design projects for the School of Agriculture and Masaryk University. He remained in this position until 1925. Afterwards, in 1926, he was appointed to the fine arts advisory board at the Ministry of Education and National Enlightenment in Prague. In 1956 he was made a full member of the Czechoslovak Union of Architects. In January 1957, he began working as a librarian and archivist for the Brno branch of the Union of Czechoslovak Fine Artists.

Dagmar Černoušková, Jindřich Chatrný

Architect
Valentin Hrdlička

Date of birth
8. 2. 1880 Chvalčov

Deceased
20. 6. 1961 Brno

Literature
Petr Janáč, Valentin Hrdlička: architektonické dílo (Magisterská diplomová práce, FF MU), Brno 2015