František Zelenka

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František Zelenka (8 July 1904 – 19 October 1944) was a Czech architect, graphic artist, and stage and costume designer. He studied architecture at Prague Technical University from 1923 to 1928. He designed theatre sets for many Prague theatres, including the National Theatre, Liberated Theatre, Estates Theatre, Municipal Theatre in Vinohrady, Chamber Theatre, and the Comedy Theatre in Smíchov, as well as for theatres in Brno, Olomouc, and Kutná Hora. He worked with leading Czech theatre figures such as Voskovec and Werich, E. F. Burián, Jiří Frejka, and Karel Dostál between 1926 and 1941, and he was closely involved with the Devětsil avant-garde.

In 1931 he held a solo exhibition of 39 posters in the Krásná jizba gallery in Prague. His posters for the Liberated Theatre and for Aero automobiles blended modern art with advertising. As a member of the Architect's Club and The Artists Union, he designed an exhibition for Philips in Pardubice in 1930. His architectural work included family homes and villas in Prague-Smíchov and the Baba Estate, as well as retail/apartment buildings on Palackého street and on Lodecká with Leopold Ehrmann. He also designed furniture and interiors, such as the Blue Room for composer Jaroslav Ježek, and worked on shops and interiors like the Josef R. Vilímek Bookshop on Národní Avenue (now Václav Špála Gallery).

In 1938 he considered emigrating to Switzerland. In 1943 he and his family were deported to the Theresienstadt Ghetto, where he organized theatre productions, designed costumes, and directed the children’s opera Brundibár, performed over 50 times. On 19 October 1944 he, his wife Gertruda, and their eight-year-old son Martin, were sent to Auschwitz. Some sources differ on the exact date of his death.