1873, Světec, Czech Republic – 1944, Dacahau, Germany
Tower on the Rock, 1906
Aquatint, etching on paper, 39,7 x 29,7 cm
Inscription, b.r. Voj.Preissig
Acquisition: Gift
Reference: 01969
1924, Prague, Czechia – 2006, Paris, France
Cala d’or, 1963
Gouache, ink, watercolor, pencil on paper, 31,5 x 28 cm
Acquisition: Gift
Reference: 00630
Biography
Ruth Francken (1924 – 12 September 2006) was a Czech-American sculptor, painter, and furniture designer who was mostly active in Paris. Ruth Francken was considered an Abstract Expressionist in her early career, until around 1964. After this point she began working with object sculptures, collage, and different textiles and techniques, and her art took on a more surrealist and pop-art aesthetic. She focuses heavily on problems and disconnects in communication. Her work was featured in an international exhibit, initially created by Tate Modern in London, titled “The World Goes Pop.”
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1899, Dolní Čermná, Austria-Hungary – 1942, Czechoslovakia
Painting, 1934
Oil on canvas, 100 х 130 cm
Acquisition: Gift
Reference: 01976
Biography
Jindřich Štyrský (11 August 1899 – 21 March 1942) was a Czech Surrealist painter, poet, editor, photographer and graphic artist. His outstanding and varied oeuvre included numerous book covers and illustrations. He also wrote studies of both Arthur Rimbaud and Marquis de Sade. Along with his artistic partner Toyen (Marie Čermínová), he became a member of Devětsil in 1923, participating in their group exhibitions. He and Toyen also exhibited in Paris in the late 1920s, where they founded their own movement, Artificialism. Between 1928 and 1929 he was designer for the group’s drama wing, the Osvobozené divadlo, where he collaborated with Vítězslav Nezval and others. Štyrský was also an active editor. In addition to his Edition 69 series, he edited the Erotická revue, which he launched in 1930, and Odeon, where many of his shorter texts appeared. He was a founding member of The Surrealist Group of Czechoslovakia.
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1880, Nové Město na Moravě, Czechia – 1925, Prague, Czechia
Puberty, 1905
Bronze, 84 х 23 х 10 cm
Acquisition: Gift
Reference: 01975
Biography
Jan Josef Štursa (15 May 1880 – 2 May 1925) was a Czech sculptor, one of the founders of modern Czech sculpture. (…) Štursa was not influenced by the Czech National Revival as the older sculptors but tried to find his own way. The female body was his frequent motif, for example in Before taking bath, 1906 or The Melancholy Girl, 1906. A monumental couple of figures decorates the pylons of Hlávka Bridge in Prague. In addition to stone and bronze he also used plaster and wax. Later, he was influenced by cubism. Portrait painting was an important part of his works.
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1900, Prague, Czechia – 1974, Prague, Czechоslovakia
Still Life with Dish, 1930
Oil on canvas, 33 х 55 cm
Acquisition: Gift by the National Gallery, Prague
Reference: 01967
Biography
František Muzika (26 June 1900 – 1 November 1974) was a Czech artist. He was a prominent representative of avant-garde in Czechoslovakia in the first half of the 20th century. Muzika was a painter, graphic designer, stage designer, illustrator, editor and professor at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague.
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The entry is available on: wikipedia.org/wiki/Franti%C5%A1ek_Muzika
1930, Třebíč, Czechia
Aggression, 1969
Oil on canvas, 162 х 130 cm
Acquisition: Gift
Reference: 01882
Biography
František Mertl (born 16 March 1930 in Třebíč), who has used the artistic name Francois Mertl dit Franta in France since the 1960s, is a Czech painter and sculptor who emigrated to France in 1958 to join his wife. He lives in Vence, in the Nice area.
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1882, Chropine, Moravia – 1953, Czechoslovakia
Still Life, 1926
Oil on canvas, 43 х 53 cm
Acquisition: Gift from the National Gallery, Prague
Reference: 01965
Biography
Emil Filla (4 April 1882 – 7 October 1953) was a Czech painter. He was a leader of the avant-garde in Prague between World War I and World War II and was an early Cubist painter. Filla was born in Chropyně, Moravia, and spent his childhood in Brno, but later moved to Prague. Beginning in 1903, he studied at (Academy of Fine Arts, Prague), but he left the school in 1906. Filla was a member of the group Osma (The Eight) in 1907–1908, which had commonalities with the Fauves and also had direct ties to the German Expressionist group Die Brücke.
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1922, Jihlava, Czechoslovakia– 1988, Prague, Czechoslovakia
Earth, 1962
Mixed media on wood, 121 x 154 cm
Acquisition: Gift
Reference: 00765
