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JAN ZRZAVÝ - THE CZECHOSLOVAK MONA LISA
A PORTRAIT OF MRS. PAVLA OSUSKÁ (Paris 1926)
ONE PAINTING EXHIBITION
6th to 8th NOVEMBER 2019, GREGR HALL, OBECNÍ DŮM (MUNICIPAL
HOUSE), PRAGUE
OFFICIAL OPENING 6th NOVEMBER 2019 FROM 5 PM
Music / Jan Pěruška & Sons / Bohuslav Martinů:
Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola
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Oil on canvas, dimension 62
x 47,5 cm, signed top right Jan Zerzavý 1926
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AAA –
Antiques Art Auctions in cooperation with the Czechoslovak
Institute of Foreign Affairs (Bratislava) will introduce in the
Gregr Hall of the Municipal House in Prague, within the
framework of “THE EXHIBITION OF ONE PAINTING”, Jan Zrzavý's „PORTRAIT
OF MRS. PAVLA OSUSKA –
THE CZECHOSLOVAK
MONA LISA” from 1926. It stands among Jan Zrzavý's best works,
and is considered one of the best, if not the best, examples of
Neoclassical portraits in the world.
Leonardo da Vinci, whose 500th anniversary of death was this
year, was a great source of inspiration to Jan Zrzavý, and in
this work the parallels between the two artists are very clear.
Jan Zrzavý was inspired by two of the most famous paintings by
Leonardo da Vinci and arguably the two most renowned portraits
in the world – Mona Lisa and Lady with an Ermine. The portrait
of Mrs. Pavla Osuská stands in comparison with these great works,
even though it was executed centuries later using modern
techniques.
This
portrait was created in Paris during the time that
Czechoslovakia started to establish its place in the world. Mrs.
Osuska's husband, Štefan Osuský, who was the Czechoslovak
ambassador to France until 1939, was an important Slovak
politician who greatly contributed to the growing political
prestige of Czechoslovakia on the world stage. Mr. Osuský
decided to commission a portrait of his beautiful wife Pavla (née
Vachková, a Czech opera star) from amongst the world‘s leading
artists. The fact that Jan Zrzavý received this assignment
testifies to his artistic prowess and to the position that
Czechoslovak artists had earned during the short existence of
the new republic.
The
portrait was published on the front page of SALON No. 4 in 1931,
in which it was already compared to Mona Lisa. A preparatory
drawing, which is an important work of art in its own right,
will also be exhibited along with the final portrait.
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The title page of the magazine
SALON, year X - 1931, number 4
In the big article inside the magazine the painting was
highly praised and compared to works by Leonardo da Vinci. |
Preparatory pencil drawing
on paper fixed on canvas,
Signed top right Jan Zrzavý, dated 1926
Size 50 x 40 cm
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The author of highly informed article
on Jan Zrzavy in the above mentioned magazine SALON, together
with several other images of Jan Zrzavy’s work, was František
Viktor Mokrý (1892 – 1975) - painter, graphic artist,
publicist, professor, Art correspondent to several daylies,
correspondent to the International Federation for Art Education,
Drawing and Arts Applied to Industries, member of the Art
Teachers Guild in London, art historian, etc. |
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The
painting‘s extraordinary story from the years 1925 - 2009 is
outlined in a concise publication by PhDr. Ivo Barteček, CSc.
The 40 pages of this representative publication perfectly
capture the mood surrounding Czechoslovak artists and
politicians of the time as they engage in world art and politics.
Translation of quotation from the cover of the publication:
“This
publication follows in the context of a long time, the
interconnection of the early modern period as represented by the
genius of Leonardo da Vinci and the twentieth and early twenty-first
century represented by the work of Jan Zrzavý, and the history
of his portrait of Mrs. Pavla Osuská, dubbed the Czechoslovak
Mona Lisa. The portrait is ranked among the masterpieces of
world-class neoclassicism. The oil was last mentioned in the
inter-war years and was published in 1931. Then it disappeared;
only to reemerge on the art and collector scene after 2009. It
is currently stored in a private collection in the Czech
Republic. This text recalls the ties between this work and the
legacy of Leonardo da Vinci. All this in commemoration of the
500th anniversary of Leonardo's death.”
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