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Lot 144
Otakar Mrkvička (1898 - 1957) PRAGUE NOCTURNES

1943
lithography, paper
41 x 28,5 cm (h x w)
sign. lower right: Otakar Mrkvička 43

Starting price

12 000 CZK
| 500 €

Price realized

17 000 CZK
| 708 €

price without premium

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Themes of mysterious Prague corners are among the most sought-after subjects of Otakar Mrkvička's work. This important representative of the interwar avant-garde, known mainly for his art reviews, was a close contemporary of J. Štyrský and Toyen, and his work is gradually coming to the fore. Initially heavily influenced by the constructivist aesthetic of the Nineties, he made a transformative transition to poetic primitivism in the 1930s. The visually striking mysterious corners capture the atmosphere of a lonely night or a night walker in these tendencies. The world of Mrkvicka's alleyways shrouded in dark night, from which lonely faces emerge, is a world of veiled mystery in an age that often demanded many secrets.