Vojtech Kopic's Rock Gallery

Vojtech Kopic was born in Vadin, in the Havlickuv Brod area of what was then known as Czechoslovakia. In 1932, after marrying Vera Holubova, he moved to the farm owned by her father in the small community of Kacanovy, located in the area of North Bohemia. Kopic was driven to express himself in the arts; he taught himself to read music and played the harmonium at the farm, as well as the organ in the local church.

In his early thirties, while continuing to make music, Kopic found another way to express his artistic passions: he began sculpting the rocks located in a hilly, wooded area near his farm. With no training in sculpture, he may have been advised by his neighbour, a stonemason, and he used simple tools such as a hammer and chisel. His first creation, completed in 1940, was a chapel adorned with a statue of St. Wenceslas, the tenth century duke who became patron saint of Bohemia.

Kopic continued creating sculptures, mostly in bas-relief, for some thirty years, and completed approximately forty scenes, most of which depict famous people from Czech history (including Jan Hus, Emperor Charles IV, and President Masaryk), as well as saints, scenes from rural life, and both exotic and domesticated animals. One of his reliefs was an organ, with himself standing next to it.

Vojtech Kopic died in 1978 and his wife died in 1985; since that time the farm has been run by the next generation of the family. The sculptures are in a part of the woods that can be freely entered; neither weather conditions nor the visits of many walkers appear to have negatively affected the condition of the sculptures.

~Henk van Es / Zuzana Pernicová

In any case, the work embodies the author's patriotic feelings, deep religious convictions, and interest in history. Vojtěch Kopic first vented his anger at the fascist occupation by carving into sandstone. The first object was St. Wenceslas. He expressed his defiance not only in sandstone, but also in active resistance. He successfully hid four fugitives from a death march in the rocks. After the war, however, the self-taught artist did not stop working with his chisel and hammer, and his collection of heroic figures, both real and mythical, continued to grow.

The communists certainly took issue with both Father Masaryk and several saints, accompanied by quotations from the Bible.

Mr. Kopic was not only an amateur stonemason, but also an organist. He longed to play the organ in church so much that he brought an old organ to the farm (some sources mention a piano, but I believe it was a small organ from a smaller church) and played it with great enthusiasm. Although he had no formal training, after a while he accompanied church services at Hrubá Skála with his playing. source

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