Josef Max

Josef Calanza Max (16 January 1804, Janov, near Sloup v Čechách - 18 June 1855, Prague) was a German-Czech sculptor. His brother was the sculptor Emanuel Max.

He came from a family of sculptors and woodcarvers and received his first lessons from his father. In 1822, encouraged by letters from one of his father's former students, he moved to Prague, where he found employment in a woodcarving workshop. From 1823 to 1824, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts under Joseph Bergler. He continued working for the woodcarving shop and married the owner's daughter, Anna Maria Schuhmann, in 1834. They had seven children, including the painter Gabriel Max and the photographer/painter Jindřich Břetislav Max (1847-1900). He began to exhibit as early as 1826, but received little recognition except for an award from the Academy for his statue of Germanicus. He applied for a position in the sculpture studios of Václav Prachner, but was rejected.

In 1830, he opened his own studios. His first major contract was for a series of tombstones in Chrastava, which was obtained through the influence of a friend from the Academy, Joseph von Führich. Another important client was Prince Rudolf Kinský and his wife Vilhelmína. During the 1840s and 50s, he joined with his brother Emanuel to create several important monuments. He often collaborated with the architect Joseph Kranner, most notably executing the figures on the monumental fountain dedicated to Francis I, from designs by Kranner.

He died of cholera at the age of fifty-one.

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