Lot 124

Zdeněk Rykr (1900 - 1940) A CAFE

Zdeněk Rykr was one of the peculiar solitaires who, despite the adversity of the fate, did not hesitate to devote himself to art. He was never accepted at the Academy of Fine Arts, but received his doctorate from the Faculty of Philosophy, where he studied art history and classical archeology. He approached art very thoroughly, mastering a considerable number of styles, until he was often criticized for not creating a more coherent opinion. The opposite was true, Zdeněk Rykr approached his own path through art methodically and sought the path himself and did not downplay it in any way. His friend Jaromír Funke understood its variability in such a way that he reached every goal very easily, so he lost interest in him. Thanks to his talent for creating advertising design and free graphics, he was not dependent on the sale of his works. He believed that advertising should cultivate the viewer, and we still buy some of his designs on the packaging today - for example, the star of Orion (Czech chocolate factory). His success allowed him to paint completely unobtrusively. Café darkness and still lifes with thonets inspired Zdeněk Rykr to transform a civilian theme into a play of lines and shadows. It mimics a familiar environment shortly before the first customers arrive, or shortly after the last one leaves. Such a still life is a harbinger or reverberation of movements, sounds and perceptions hidden in absolute silence. It creates tension in the middle of a moment of rest. From the expert assessment by PhDr. Rea Michalová Ph.D.: "The dominant line reflects the author's joy of painting, summing up the impression evoked by sensory experience, Rykr enjoyed entertainment, socialized, danced and also traveled, and the painting "Cafe" is the result of the author's extremely happy life and creative constellation in the early 1930s."