František Maria Černý

13 August 1903, Prague – 9 November 1978, Prague

František Maria Černý studied at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, in Pavel Janák’s atelier, and after at the Academy of Fine Arts, under Josef Gočár. Later he contributed to professional journals, e.g. Volné směry, Architektura and Stavitel. He was a member of Devětsil and the Mánes Association of Fine Artists.

His early works were inspired by Dutch Neoplasticism and later he also tended towards functionalism. He was significantly influenced by the Swiss architect Le Corbusier and dealt with the question of monumentality in modern architecture, as well as the means of its expression. His works is not extensive; he designed and built only a handful of projects in his life. Apart from several apartment buildings, he also built the hospital and doctors’ dormitory in Kolín. His most famous work was the reconstruction of the Emmaus Monastery (1964–1968), destroyed by an Allied bombing raid at the end of the Second World War.