Mými principy, mojí řečí, mým slohem : korespondence Jana Kotěry Karlu a Naděždě Kramářovým

The paper uses an analysis and interpretation of the correspondence between architect Jan Kotěra and Karel Kramář and his wife Nadezhda Nikolajevna (née Abrikos) to add to the knowledge on Kotěra's role in the construction of Kramář's Barbo Christo villa in Crimea. Kramář and Kotěra likely first made contact after the young architect arrived in Prague. Soon after he began to participate in freemason activities, and there he met the young Czech politician, who later became prime minister. Kotěra's letters to Nadezhda Kramářová in particular, whose taste and preferences had little in common with Kotěra's conception of modern architecture, are an interesting commentary on Kotěra's creative principles. They reveal Kotěra's approach to historicism and classicism, the basic principles of which were encompassed within his concept of modernism throughout his life. Wartime letters and one post-war letter touch on Kotěra's work at the Academy of Fine Art and in the Mánes Association after 1914, and on his position, together with Kramář, on the board of the Modern Gallery (Moderní galerie), with respect to which the final letter sheds light on the differences of opinion that existed between Kotěra and Kramář over the future direction of this institution.