Lot 103

Josef Čapek (1887 - 1945) CARNIVAL

In the interwar period, Josef Čapek also worked as a distinctive caricaturist with an unmistakable artistic style. From 1921 he consistently contributed his caricatures to Lidové noviny and occasionally to other periodicals. In the case of the presented work, it is an anecdote printed under the title Masopust in the daily newspaper Lidové noviny 34, 1926, No. 42, 24. 1., p. 9. The presented work is directly related to a number of Čapka's journalistic drawings on a social theme, which are made using the same technique , on the same background material, in the same format and also show related stylistic features. In addition, stylistically and thematically, this drawing corresponds with Čapka's free work in the Chlap period around the mid-1920s. On the back of the work there is a signature and a legend, written in Čapk's hand: "Why, I would go to a masquerade ball - I would prefer this one as Cyrano or the Maharaja's darling - if only I had clothes for it." The work was assessed and its authenticity confirmed by an expert opinion PhDr . Pavla Pečinková, CSc.