Lot 176

Marie Čermínová - Toyen (1902 - 1980) HIDE, WAR!

The title of the cycle was taken by Toyen from Poems by Isidore Lucien Ducasse, known as Comte de Lautréamont (1846 - 1870), who was considered the historical precursor of the Dadaists and Surrealists. The cycle is completed by a poem by Henry Heisler from 1944. In the same year, as the war was coming to an end, Toyen created a set of drawings responding to the situation. Their theme is destruction and death as a consequence of the war. The artist interpreted them as a series of dreamlike episodes in which the main role is played by animal skeletons moving in an empty, devastated landscape. The offered album appears repeatedly on the art market due to the number of 1000 copies issued. The album of nine zinc prints in a cover was published by Fr. Borový, Prague.