Lot 142

František Janoušek (1890 - 1943) SURREALIST COMPOSITION

After 1935 František Janoušek’ paintings fully departed from reality and he portrayed human figures in various forms of shackles and strangulation. In this Surrealist style, the viewer sees the ill-fated figure bending backwards, tied to a fish motif. Modeling and shaping are achieved primarily through careful shading, which particularly stands out on the Cubist object on the left. The mental state of the hanging and shackled arched figure reflects the artist’s own spiritual state and bears elements of his visions of war, evil and violence. A student of Vojtěch Hynais, František Janoušek graduated from the academy in 1922 and was a member of the Mánes Union of Fine Artists.