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Charcoal, red ochre and pencil on paper. Signed upper left: “K. Valova 86”. In Contemplation one can observe the artist's typical expression from the 1980s, a period when she built on her late 1970s work depicting man transforming into stone, becoming solid material resisting man's inevitable fate and opposing society. She emphasises man's connection with the land and his vulnerability and fragility in confrontation with the oppressive power of the universe and the regime at the time. Jitka and Kveta Válová are singular figures in Czech art. The two sisters (twins) lived together their whole life in a small house in Kladno, which also served as a studio. Influenced by their studies at Filla's studio at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (1945–1951) they adopted the large format, in which they depicted the battle for basic ethical values and human dignity. The artists received their first major acclaim in the 1960s. At that time they departed from painting subjects strongly influenced by the blue-collar environment of Kladno and became important exponents of the New Figuration movement. Provenance: Private collection, Germany. Collection of Prof. Dr. Blasius, Saarbrücken, Germany. Collection of Eberhard Rottstedt, Germany. Studio of Květa Válová.