Matěj Rejsek or Matthias Rejsek (around 1445,

Prostějov Prostějov (; german: Proßnitz) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is known for its fashion industry. The historical city centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural ...

– 1 July 1506, Kutná Hora) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

stonemason, sculptor, builder and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

of the Late Gothic style.

Life

Matěj Rejsek was born probably in 1445 in Prostějov (either in Bohemian

or in

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

). As a young man he came to Prague to study at the

Faculty of Arts A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

at the

Charles University in Prague ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

. He finished his studies in 1469 as a bachelor and became the rector and teacher at the

parish school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

of the

Church of Our Lady before Týn The Church of Mother of God before Týn (in Czech ''Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem'', also ''Týnský chrám'' (''Týn Church'') or just ''Týn''), often translated as Church of Our Lady before Týn, is a Gothic church and a dominant feature ...

in the

Old Town of Prague The Old Town of Prague ( cs, Staré Město pražské, german: Prager Altstadt) is a medieval settlement of Prague, Czech Republic. It was separated from the outside by a semi-circular moat and wall, connected to the Vltava river at both of its ...

. He built some houses in Prague. One of his most famous works is the

Powder Tower A powder tower (german: Pulverturm), occasionally also powder house (''Pulverhaus''), was a building used by the military or by mining companies, frequently a tower, to store gunpowder or, later, explosives. They were common until the 20th centu ...

which was built as a representative gate of the Old Town of Prague after 1475. Matěj Rejsek became the main builder of the tower in 1478. His work was inspired by Petr Parler's work. In 1489 he moved to Kutná Hora where he worked at the completion of the St. Barbara's Church. Rejsek began to build the outer supporting system, triforium and vaulting. The

net vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a nave, church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Isla ...

of the presbytery was completed in 1499. He died on 1 July 1506 in Kutná Hora and was buried in the St. Barbara's Church.

Works

* Marble

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

for

utraquist Utraquism (from the Latin ''sub utraque specie'', meaning "under both kinds") or Calixtinism (from chalice; Latin: ''calix'', mug, borrowed from Greek ''kalyx'', shell, husk; Czech: kališníci) was a belief amongst Hussites, a reformist Christi ...

Bishop

Jan Rokycana Jan Rokycana (also known in English as John of Rokycany and Jan of Rokycany; also known in Czech as Jan z Rokycan) (c. 1396 in Rokycany – 21 February 1471 in Prague) was a Czech Hussite theologian in the Kingdom of Bohemia and a key figure of t ...

in the

(1470) – not preserved * Funeral

baldachin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from it, baldacchino), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over hi ...

for Italian Catholic Bishop Augustine Lucian of Mirandola in the

* Powder Gate ( cs, Prašná brána) in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, statues and decoration cut in sandstone (1478–1483) * Upper part of

triforium A triforium is an interior gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be locat ...

and vault of choir of St. Barbara's Church, Kutná Hora (1489–1506) * Pulpit in the St. Lawrence Church in Kaňk near Kutná Hora (1504) * Pulpit with statues of four signs of evangelists, in the St. Batholomew Church in

Rakovník Rakovník (, german: Rakonitz) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrative parts Rakovník ...

in Central Bohemia (1504) * Town Hall in Kutná Hora (after 1490) – not preserved Probably created by Matěj Rejsek: * Statue of a mythic knight Bruncvík with a lion (Roland statue) at the

Charles Bridge Charles Bridge ( cs, Karlův most ) is a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the early 15th century.; The ...

in the Lesser Town of Prague, damaged in 1648, since 1875 placed in the Lapidarium of the National Museum in Prague * Stone fountain in Kutná Hora (1495)

References

Literature

*Michaela OTTOVÁ: Pod ochranou Krista Spasitele a svaté Barbory. Sochařská výzdoba kostela sv. Barbory v Kutné Hoře (1483–1499). Praha 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rejsek, Matej 1445 births 1506 deaths People from Prostějov Czech architects Gothic architects Charles University alumni