Lot 160

Karel Souček (1915 - 1982) (attributed) WOMAN IN A PASSAGEWAY

Karel Souček is one of the most distinctive figures of the generation of artists who came of age in the 1940s. Following his difficult beginnings in Kladno, he joined Group 42 and its program, which was focused on the modern world and poetry of the city. As a resident of working-class Kladno and coming from a family of humble means, he was absolutely enchanted with big-city life, as symbolized in its store windows, shop-lined passages, alleys, cafeterias and fast-food stands, cafés and hairdressers. After the war his small paintings increasingly expanded in size, often taking the form of triptychs and polyptychs that went on to become parts of larger series, most of which were dedicated to the theme of passageways.