Lot 175

Jiří John (1923 - 1972) THE AUTUMN

Jiří John was one of the key figures of Czech fine art in the 1960s. He belonged to the UB 12 group and was considered to be an extraordinary artist, especially in the field of graphics. The whole work of Jiří John arose from the experience of rural childhood and youth. He leaned towards the natural myth, the miraculous drama of the origin of life, the marriage of light and darkness. It radiates a strange restlessness that reflects the tension of life. His poor health affected the drama of the work. The subtle harmonic nuances were replaced during the 1960s by increasingly larger, sometimes hard contrasts, similar to the Rust of Autumn, where calmer and darker rhythms alternate with dramatic red accents. The work, which completely lacks spectacular narrative and figurality, resonates with its sincere and quiet language of nature, which is put to hibernation.