Lot 81

Bohumil Kafka (1878 - 1942) RUDOLF STOCKAR WITH HIS FIANCEE LIDMILA BRICHTOVÁ

The relief is the work of the prominent Czech sculptor Bohumil Kafka, who worked on a series of portrait reliefs around 1909. Kafka himself wrote about his approach to portraiture: "The significance of portraiture lies in nothing other than capturing the expression and character of the human face through means that are more artistic and a form that is more beautiful than those offered by mechanically produced photography. " In the relief portraits, we find a direct connection to Kafka’s experience with Bourdelle’s work, which reaffirms the artistic contribution to architecture. The balance of individual features and the application of a more general idea of beauty expressed through gentle stylization reveal, as Professor Wittlich writes, the artist’s interest in antiquity. The work on offer comes from the artist’s estate at the famous Kafka Villa in Prague 6 – Ořechovka.  Published in: Kafka, Bohumil and Wittlich, Petr. Bohumil Kafka: (1878–1942): The Story of a Sculptor. Prague: Karolinum, 2014, p. 117.