Lot 72

Joža Úprka (1861 - 1940) A COUPLE IN FOLK COSTUME

Joža Uprka’s oeuvre is an eternal, faithful reflection of reality, in which the artist strove to maintain the beauty of folk costume, festivals and customs. A Couple in Folk Costume, a beautiful example of Uprka’s relationship to nature and to folk customs, also perfectly demonstrates the artist’s love for folklore. Uprka was one of the strongest and most original figures in Bohemian visual art in the late 19th and early 20th century. A painter and printmaker with a distinctive artistic expression, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts under Professor František Čermák. His early work is connected with the three years he spent studying at the Academy in Munich, where he gathered valuable inspiration from Professors Gysis and Sitz. Following a brief time in Prague associated with studies under Maximilián Pirner, in the late 1880s he returned to his home in Moravian Slovakia, whose color and customs became his primary source of inspiration. His masterpieces glow with the joy of color, of movement, and of the expression of vital energy and optimism towards life.