Emil Kubíček entered Litomyšl history as the designer of many of the tombstones in the local cemetery, as well as statues and relief work on the facades of townhouses. However he was also renowned as a conservator in the care of heritage, and with his dedicated approach to his work, he contributed to the preservation of many of Litomyšl’s monuments.
He gained his apprenticeship in his father, Antonín Kubíček’s Litomyšl workshop. His father was a master stonemason and his older son Antoním Kubíček Jr. became a stonemason in Litomyšl too. Emil Kubíček experienced the First World War on the fronts in Russian-Poland and Italy. After his return, he graduated from the College of Stonecutting and Sculpture in Hořice in 1922. He was accepted in the same year into the sculpture studio of Jan Štursa at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and, after Štursa’s death, finished his studies under the guidance of Bohumil Kafka in 1926. He was a member of the Association of East-Bohemian Artists in Pardubice.
In 1929, he created the allegorical statues of Ploughing and Industry for the facade of the former Citizens’ Savings Bank (C1-57), both created in simplistic Civilist style as two realistic male figures. The figure symbolizing ploughing is holding a sheaf of heads of grain in one hand, and leaning with his left hand on a plough which he is stepping over. The figure representing industry is holding a toothed wheel near his body whilst stepping over an anvil.
In 1938, on the facade of the former office building of the town council (No. 70) in Smetana Square, a Litomyšl stone emblem was unveiled along with, as a symbol of crofting, a statue of a girl stroking a roe deer and holding a fir twig. Both of these sculptures can be seen in the entry hall to the Miroslav Kubík Gallery (C1-70). The facade also features a circular stone portrait of the legendary medieval robber knight shrouded in mystery - Vavřinec Toulovec.
In 1940, Kubíček took part in a design competition for a memorial to Alois Jirásek in Litomyšl. However, the jury chose Vincenc Makovský’s design (C1-VP9) over Kubíček’s.
He also created many tombstones for the cemetery in Litomyšl, including one for his friend the painter František Ropka. Between 1931 and 1932, he participated on the sculptural ornamentation of the now-defunct memorial garden for urns.
Kubíček dedicated the final years of his life to restoration and conservation work. In 1952, he was named heritage care conservation worker for the Litomyšl district. Thanks to his professional approach and cooperation with professionals from other fields, e.g. protection of the environment and archaeology, he was able to enforce interventions that contributed to the preservation of artwork from our past. For example, he stipulated that an archaeological survey be carried out near Litomyšl Chateau between 1959 and 1960, and published an article concerning the history of this iconic Litomyšl monument in the regional press.
Memorial plaque to Josef Páta, Bří Pátů Street 82, Litomyšl
Memorial plaque to Petr Jilemnický, Primary and Nursery School, Budislav 136
1957
František Ropka’s tombstone, litomyšl cemetery
1957
Tombstone with relief work depicting Marie Sobotková, litomyšl cemetery
- RML, fond č. 57 – Kubíček Emil, nezpracováno.
- Oldřich Pakosta, Litomyšlský hřbitov u kostela svaté Anny. Hroby významných osobností a náhrobky umělecké hodnoty, Litomyšl 2010, s. 31, 38, 41.
- Petr Kmošek, Výtvarná hledání domova – tvůrčí cesta Spolku výtvarných umělců východočeských v Pardubicích (1930–1950), K regionálním dějinám východních Čech. Studie Vysoké školy pedagogické v Hradci Králové II/1, 1993, s. 81–106.
- Helena Zemanová, Vzpomínka na Emila Kubíčka, Kulturní zpravodaj města Litomyšle, 1988, únor, s. 18–20.
- Zora Koníčková-Pátová, Za sochařem Emilem Kubíčkem, Zprávy z muzeí od Trstenické stezky, č. 4, 1968, s. 59–60.
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Karel Veselík, Sochař Emil Kubíček zemřel, Zpravodaj Vlastivědného kroužku [v Litomyšli] 2, 1967, č. 7–8, s. 9.
- Emil Kubíček, Náhrobní deska hejtmana Světelského z roku 1723, Vlastivědný sborník Pardubický kraj – 700 let Litomyšle, Pardubice 1959, s. 28.
- Emil Kubíček, O litomyšlském hradu a zámku, Vesnické noviny okresu Litomyšl 8, 1957, č. 27 , s. 2; č. 28, s. 2.
- Neuveden, Výzdoba fasády osadního domu na horním náměstí byla dokončena!, Stráž českého východu. Nezávislý demokratický týdeník VI, 1938, č. 35, 3. 9. , s. 6.
