Lot 85

Josef Váchal (1884 - 1969) THE ISLAND OF THE BLESSED

Painter, graphic artist, illustrator, sculptor and poet Josef Váchal excelled as an original artist especially in the technique of color woodblock prints, which earned him acclaim at exhibitions in Cologne and Florence. He trained as a bookbinder and attended a private school, where he was a student of Antonín Kalvoda. He spent most of his life in seclusion and poverty, always fearlessly forging his own path regardless of the ridicule and blind eye he got from art critics. This distinctive Symbolist-based artist was the co-founder of Sursum, an art group whose artists also addressed Expressionist impulses.