Stanislav Libensky &
Jaroslava Brychtova
glass from the
Glass Encyclopedia

Stanislav Libensky (1921-2002) and his wife Jaroslava Brychtova, are two of the most influential Czech glass artists of the 20th century. They produced some of the world's greatest cast glass and architectural glass works of art.

Libensky began his career in glass at the age of 16, when he studied glass-making at the Novy Bor and Zelezny Brod specialised Schools of Glassmaking, in the 1930s. During the War years (1939-1944) he studied at Prague under Professor Jaroslav Holecek. He then returned to his old school at Novy Bor as a teacher. During this period (1945 - 54) he also worked as a designer for glassworks in the region. In 1949-50 he attended the Prague Academy of Applied Arts, studying glassmaking under Professor Josef Kaplicky.

From 1954 to 1963 he was Director of the School of Glassmaking in Zelezny Brod, and it was here that he met his wife Jaroslava Brychtova and they began their dramatically creative work together. In 1963 Libensky took over the Chair of Glassmaking from Kaplicky at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague, a post which he held until 1987.

In 1984, three years before his University retirement age, Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtova set up their own glass studio at Zelezny Brod and later in Prague. Together they have undertaken architectural commissions around the world, received numerous international awards, taught at summer schools in Pilchuk (US), and contributed to prestigious conferences and courses in several countries.