Famous Czech sculptor working on new statue for Antarctica
Sculptor Petr Váňa has left his mark around Czechia. He made the replica of the 1650 Marian Column on Prague’s Old Town Square and has created dozens of sculptures for Czech churches, village squares and hilltops. He even has a statue underwater, at the bottom of the Slapy dam. Now he is working on a sculpture for Nelson Island in Antarctica.
Petr Váňa’s best-known work is probably the replica of the 1650 Marian Column on Old Town Square, on which he worked for an incredible 28 years. It was installed in 2020, but both the locals and visitors feel as if it has always been there. Váňa says there is a very good reason for this.
"That is because the original column stood there for 300 years and the individual surrounding houses and facades evolved from it. When you look at the column today, you can see how well it interacts with the Týn Cathedral and the surrounding buildings. You can tell that it belongs there."
The sculptor’s most unusual work is the statue of St. John of Nepomuk coming face-to-face with an angel, which lies at the bottom of the Slapy dam, forty metres below the water surface. So what is a beautiful sculpture doing buried deep underwater? Petr Váňa explains:
"It was the guys from the local diver’s club who talked me into it. There are several villages at the bottom of the Slapy dam that were forced to give way to its construction. And there was a statue of St. John of Nepomuk down there, erected to protect rafters along a difficult stretch of the river. And the divers said –why not put him back? At first I thought it was crazy to put a statue underwater. But then I realised that John of Nepomuk himself died in the waters of the Vltava when he was thrown off Charles Bridge. So I decided to make it.”
John of Nepomuk was thrown into the Vltava River at the behest of King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia, because, as the confessor of the queen, he refused to divulge her confessional secrets. Due to the way he was killed, he is revered as a martyr and a patron of sailors. There are many statues of the saint along the country’s rivers, but Váňa’s says he wanted to portray him differently.
“Usually, John of Nepomuk is depicted according to the Baroque image of Jan Brokoff, such as that which stands on the Charles Bridge. I was tempted to depict a different scene – that of his death when he meets an angel underwater. I wanted to capture that miraculous moment between life and death. He was thrown into the Vltava because he clung to his faith so I wanted to make a statue of him holding onto the cross and coming face-to face with an angel who has the queen’s features.”
One would think it is a pity to sink such a beautiful sculpture 40 metres underwater. But Váňa has no regrets on that count. He says that ever since it was installed Slapy has been visited by crowds of divers, who dive down to see it. “I think the statue has more visitors than it would get in a gallery," he jokes.
People who want to admire it and are afraid to dive, can take a trip to Rome, where there is a replica of it in the Czech College.
Now Petr Váňa is working to create another statue of this popular Czech saint –but for a very different environment – the plains of Antarctica.
"I was approached with this request by the Czech Antarctic Society, which is based on Nelson Island. So I am making a statue of St. John of Nepomuk who will welcome all those who come to this far-off place, because the island is actually a kind of gateway to Antarctica."
Once again the sculptor has decided to break with the traditional portrayal of the saint.
“I want to create a sculpture of two statues where John of Nepomuk will be looking at the Virgin Mary with child. This not only reflects his deep faith but is also a message to those who come here. Because I asked myself what makes adventurers who go on far-away journeys such as to Antarctica want to return home? And the answer is the memories they cherish of their woman and child. I think that is a sacred story.”
