Lot 137

Ota Janeček (1919 - 1996) STILL LIFE WITH VINEGAR AND PLUCKED ROOSTER

Janeček devoted himself to Cubism between 1943 and 1948. He was interested in the rational factor, formal multi-perspective variations, and the complex, innovative construction of composition, initially directly inspired by Picasso and Braque. At that time, Janeček was already a recognized member of the S.V.U. Mánes and was subject to professional criticism. He sought creative shifts more in a new perspective on scenes of everyday life than in metaphysical symbols. In his later work, Janeček enthusiastically reflected on his Cubist phase, for example, by attempting to recover his Cubist paintings. By that time, these were already scattered across numerous private collections. A surviving study on paper of the work on offer, Still Life with Vinegar and a Plucked Rooster, was found in the artist’s estate in his Prague studio. The work is listed in the catalog of his works, compiled during the artist’s lifetime, under number 6 on page 26.