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Created by an artist who is primarily known as a children's book illustrator, this large canvas is from a major Prague collection. In 1965 Karásek received the silver medal at the International Book Art Exhibition in Leipzig for his illustration of the Czech translation of L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." His art is interwoven with childhood experiences, especially his mother's storytelling and singing of somber folk ballads. These impressions from his native land were augmented by trips to remote corners of Slovakia, where he found inspiration in local legends, stories, folk architecture, superstitions, celebrations and overgrown cemeteries. The symbolism of color is also important in his work. Blue, as in this work, is the color of tradition and eternal stability, the color of distance and meditation. This work, which offers a superb example of Karásek's style, is unique for its execution on the canvas, which he painted only after a number of years had passed.