Lot 147

František Tichý (1896 - 1961) WHITE BLACK MEN

From the review by PhDr. Rea Michalová Ph.D: "The reviewed work represents Tichý's high-quality, richly illustrated work, concluding and, in a way, summarizing the artist's formative stay in Paris (1930-1935). According to the memoirs of Czechoslovak diplomat Miloš Šafránek, the very specific and remarkable theme had a very prosaic initial impulse, which set the painter's imagination in motion. At a flea market near Porte de Clignancourt, Tichý met Ormos, a Hungarian doctor of law and refugee, who was one of the local antique dealers at the time. He acquired a small carving, a long, slender boat made of dark wood, possibly of African origin, which he later kept on his desk. Tichý collected ethnic art, such as painted masks, and visited museums. His imagination thus became intertwined with the theme of Robinson Crusoe, which Tichý illustrated.