Lot 175

Josef Jíra (1929 - 2005) LANDSCAPE WITH A GOBLET

Josef Jíra initially studied at the technical school for jewelry-making in Turnov before moving to Prague to attend the Academy of Fine Arts. He played a lot of sports and made a living from commercial graphic design and book illustrations. Jíra was a founding member of the M 57 art group. Expressionism had the strongest impact on his work, and he adapted the movement to his own needs and reflected it in his landscape paintings.

Josef Jíra painted this landscape of timbered houses and a church for his nephew in the spirit of Expressionism. Jíra always had a strong relationship with the countryside, which he placed in contrast to the hustle and bustle of modern times. The landscape is slightly concealed by blooming apple tree branches, pushed to the foreground with thick strokes of white paint and protruding from a glass goblet in the center of the composition.