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Oil on canvas. Signed lower left: “P. Kotik 36”. Numbered by artist on reverse: 19/36; stamps of Mary Snoblova Gallery and Mlada Boleslav Friends of the Arts Club. In 1932, after previously working in smaller cities (Turnov, Nová Paka, Mladá Boleslav), Pravoslav Kotík moved to Prague, where he got a job to teach draftsmanship at Na Smetance secondary school. But the Prague environment proved to be too ambiguous for his direct character; it did not meet his expectations and the painter gradually started to turn inward. "Kotík returned to his older topics and develops them in different variations. He continued his independent series, which was exhibited in 1978 as Groups, Crowds, Swarms. It is the same layer of the proletariat, but the number of figures in the paintings grow: people meet on the street, in front of the pub, in workshops or cafeterias, protest together or go to the cinema. The themes developed are a sensitive reflection of the tumultuous times and the paintings carry increasing meaning. Cubist-inspired buildings topple under facial expressions and looks. The paintings are substantial, the scenes taking on a theater-like impression that supports the stage arrangement of the scenes." Cit. Marcela Pánková, Pravoslav Kotík 1889–1970, p. 43, National Gallery in Prague for the artist's exhibition at Waldstein Riding School, Prague Castle, in 1991. Ref.: Exhibition of Pravoslav Kotík – Portraits, Jiří Kodl – Landscapes, Mary Snoblova Gallery on Bredovska Street, Prague 2, March 1937.