Lot 59

Antonín Slavíček (1870 - 1910) LADY IN A PARK

From the expert opinion of Prof. PhDr. Petr Wittlich, CSc.: "One of the main themes in painting around 1900 was the female figure in the landscape. Behind this simple motif lay an important challenge for modern painting: achieving unity within the pictorial plane and stylistically unifying the figure with the background. It is interesting that this important chapter of Czech modern art was initiated and led by landscape painting. The oil painting by Slavíček under discussion was likely created in 1896 during his young family’s summer stay in Veltrusy, and the lady strolling along one of the park’s paths is Slavíček’s wife, Míla. Even later, the figure in the background did not disappear from Slavíček’s paintings. During the period of Kameničky and Oldřichovec, it transformed into a country woman walking down a dirt road toward the horizon. Slavíček called this a “historical landscape.” The small sketch from Veltrusy is thus the model that opened up a significant part of Slavíček’s oeuvre.” Verso confirmation of Jan Slavíček, son of the author.