Lot 44

Max Švabinský (1873 - 1962) SUMMER NIGHT

“Švabinský, a poet of bright sunshine and songful contours, occasionally longed for subjects dominated by darkness, with meticulously plotted lines giving way to picturesque transitions of soft, deep tones. In his oeuvre, the night is amiable, cozy, full of calm and warmth. Mezzotint is a technically exacting and delicate method. Švabinský had his mezzotint plates machine-rocked with fusiform dots, which were larger and less vulnerable. He did this because while working outdoors at night, he could have easily damaged the plates. More than any other technique, mezzotint requires an absolutely unique subject. It must be dark so that the material may be used as beautifully as possible. An August night in 1911 in Kozlova inspired the subject for Švabinský’s print. The weather was unusually hot, the stars sparkled with brilliance. An enormous linden tree stood next to the land opposite the farmhouse. Enchanted by the motif, Švabinský had a large plate brought in from Prague and for several nights he worked on it based on what he actually saw, a small lamp hanging from his neck.” From J. Kaušitz, Se Švabinským o grafice (With Švabinský about Graphic Art), SPN 1959, no. 26.