Jiří Načeradský (1939 - 2014) BIRDS

Jiří Načeradský is undoubtedly one of the most prominent figures of the Czechoslovak art scene in the second half of the 20th century. Even during his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where he was trained by Prof. Vlastimil Rada, the influence of European classical modernism, especially the early period of Pablo Picasso, was clearly evident in his work. From the beginning, Načeradský applied a distinct sense of the grotesque in his artistic work. Even before the mid-1960s, his artistic expression approached the wave of new figuration, and he soon became one of the most prominent representatives of this artistic trend. Between 1964 and 1967, he created a number of paintings in which he explored the possibilities of deforming the human figure, often turning it into grotesque quotations. The oil on canvas painting entitled Birds from 1966 is not unique in its theme in the second half of the 1960s, as the motif of grotesque birds began to appear in Načeradský's work as early as 1964 (for example, in the painting Night, Animals, Birds) and remained present until 1967, when the painter's attention turned to the possibilities of transforming photography and the problem of capturing movement on canvas. In addition to oils, the theme of birds was also explored in watercolors, ink, and drawings. The oil painting with a strikingly contrasting green background bears the signature Načeradský 66 in the lower left corner, along with the date.