Remembering Oscar-winning Czech artist Theodor Pištěk
The renowned Czech costume designer, painter, and set designer Theodor Pištěk has died at the age of 93. He remains the only Czech artist ever to win an Academy Award for costume design, which he received in 1985 for Miloš Forman’s Amadeus. But the Oscar was only one part of his long and remarkable career.
Amadeus proved crucial for Pištěk’s career. Upon receiving the award, he said that it was “the biggest and happiest day” of his film career. He later recalled in an interview for Czech Radio how his collaboration with the Czech-American director, who by then had already directed the American classics One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) and Hair (1979), began.
“It was all quite absurd. I had worked here in Czechoslovakia all my life, and I became famous thanks to two films - both foreign work. One night, the phone rang; Miroslav Ondříček must have recommended me. It was Miloš Forman, whom I hadn’t heard from in fifteen years. He asked, ‘Would you dare to take on Mozart?’ I said, ‘What kind of question is that? Of course I would!’”
Four years later, Pištěk worked with Forman again on Valmont, starring Colin Firth, Annette Bening, and Meg Tilly. The British–French co-production earned him another Oscar nomination and ultimately the prestigious French César Award for costume design. Pištěk recalled spending time with Forman during this period and picked up an unusual way to read audience reactions.
“I learnt this from Miloš Forman. When a film premieres, you go from one cinema to another, slip into the back, and watch how people react. I remember that in New York, for Valmont, we visited over seven cinemas!”
His international achievements aside, for Czech audiences, Pištěk is especially beloved for his work on Czech classics and fairy tales. He designed costumes for Three Wishes for Cinderella (1973) - a Christmas staple watched by families every year - Long Live Ghosts! (1977), The Girl on the Broomstick (1971), Dinner for Adele (1978), Cutting It Short (1980), and the iconic children’s series Pan Tau (1970–1979).
Yet film costume design was only one strand of Pištěk’s life and career. He also created theatre costumes and, after the fall of communism, even designed the uniforms of the Prague Castle Guard. But above all, he considered himself a painter, insisting that painting and costume design were entirely separate in his mind.
“As a painter, a person is absolutely free. You close the door of the studio behind you, and no one can interfere. But when you’re part of a film crew, you have to accept the visions of your collaborators.”
In his paintings, Pištěk often paid homage to automobiles and engines. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and, alongside his early work in film with František Vláčil, found refuge in the world of cars and racing. Well into the early 1970s, he competed as an amateur racing driver. In a 2008 interview with Czech Radio, he reflected on his enduring fascination with motorsport.
“The engine is a symbol of our era. History shifted with the steam engine, the motor, and it continues. Racing cars were a hobby for me - it was never more than the experience itself, although I later made use of it in my work. I consider that period of my life, the time spent around motors and cars, as important. Technology and progress still interests me today.”
Gallerist Martin Kodl described him as one of the most talented Czech visual artists of the late twentieth century.
“He always kept pace with the times, and with the world. He was very distinctive and followed his own path. I often said that whatever he touched seemed to bloom. He had enormous talent, and I always saw him as a true gentleman.”
Pištěk was born into a distinguished artistic family. Both of his parents were actors - his father, Theodor Pištěk Sr., was one of the most popular stage and film stars of his era. His maternal great-grandfather was famous painter František Ženíšek.
His artistic legacy continues through his son, Jan Pištěk, himself a respected visual artist. And through the Jindřich Chalupecký Award, which Pištěk co-founded with Václav Havel and Jiří Kolář in 1990. The prize, awarded annually, recognises and supports outstanding Czech visual artists under the age of 35.
