Lot 151

Jaroslav Paur (1918 - 1987) WHITE CITY

Man created the city, and the city created a new man—this equation could be used to express the myth that has persisted in modern art since the time of the French Impressionists. The myth of the city, in its various forms, became the subject matter for Paura’s grand works from the 1960s. The 1964 painting titled White City falls precisely within this period of the artist’s work. In his series of metropolitan scenes, the painting technique becomes simplified; lines crystallize into delicate geometric structures, and areas of scratched lines that disrupt the canvas add depth to the composition. In the context of the exceptionally strong generation of young artists entering the scene during the 1940s, Pauro’s painterly work is one of the manifestations of the modernism of the era, which is not without a distinctive and elusive individuality. Painting became the primary medium of the artist’s multifaceted output, characterized by a refined style and a sense of reduction of formal elements. It is distinguished by the development of thematic content within internally cohesive cycles and the use of a broader spectrum of expressive means evoking various emotional states.