Lot 105

Josef Lada (1887 - 1957) VILLAGE GREEN WITH CHAPEL

The newly discovered colored drawing Village Green with Chapel, according to the expert assessment by PhDr. Pavla Pečinková, CSc., “... both in terms of motif and execution are unconditionally from the body of Lada's work. It is from a series of spring motifs that is visited frequently by Lada, especially in the 1940s. At that time Lada, recognized as a distinctive figure artist, focused more frequently on village motifs without figurative staffage, seeking an optimal artistic position between illustration and painting. He becomes known as a painter of the Czech countryside, but he does not want to give up his linear stylization; he transposes his landscape motifs into simple symbols, which he uses to construct a new visual reality. Lada’s original painterly expression, in which he fully applies his experience as an illustrator, significantly enriched the inventory of expression of period Czech landscape painting. The artistic interpretation of this work, particularly characterized by gentle contours and a stronger application of painterly style, is typical for the 1940s period, when Lada’s painted oeuvre reaches its height. The composition, illustration style, method of coloring and type of signature matches documented originals from this period. The work is executed on the high-quality brand paperboard that Lada enjoyed using.”

The provenance of the painting is the collection of sculptor Břetislav Benda.