Lot 159

Kamil Lhoták (1912 - 1990) FAMILY ON A TRIP

With its masterful use of color and its sense of the era, this family portrait ranks among Lhoták’s works of magical realism. The perfectly balanced swaths of color make an immediate impression with their sheer richness and intensity. The composition features fateful symbols—a bicycle, a car, a boulder of memories, and a red ball—which surround the family gathering. The harmonious flow of events is interrupted by the long, fixed gaze of an intriguing young girl in a sailor dress. On the back of the painting, we find Lhoták’s inscription: “Owner: Mrs. Anna Endrštová, Prague-Liboc, Libocká 46.” Anička was the artist’s fateful companion and muse; he had sketched her in his notebook as a boy, and then their paths diverged. When he met her again, he portrayed her many times—as a mature woman and as a young girl, as is the case in Family Portrait. In 1963, he created a variation on Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass featuring the voluptuous adult “femme fatale” Anička. In Family Portrait, however, he painted Anička at the age of 14, as the love of his childhood. Anna suffered from a physical disability; part of her left hand was missing. Kamil Lhoták had suffered from polio, which left him with a permanent limp. He was able to empathize with women with disabilities and repeatedly captured their charm without any prejudice. Anna Endrštová brought inspiration and the support he needed for his work into his life.

Published: Šteffek, L.: Kamil Lhoták: A Thousand Paintings. Prague, 2024. pp. 312–313, inventory no. 1328/38.