Lot 53

Alois Kalvoda (1875 - 1934) TREES BY THE RIVER

Alois Kalvoda was one of the leading Czech landscape painters at the turn of the 20th century. He studied under Julius Mařák at the Academy in 1892-98. Mařák's romanticized landscape style only influenced Kalvoda for a short time, but his approach to students remained for Kalvoda's entire teaching career. In 1900 he had the opportunity, thanks to the Hlávka scholarship, to study in Paris, and the next year in Munich. This painting is one of the works displaying a clear influence in the brushwork from modern Western painting. The loose brush strokes, suppression of the strict academic contours, the play of light on the surface of the water - all this points to the artist's thorough study of French impressionists, especially Claude Monet.