86-B APHIC ART OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA EXHIBITION OF PRINTS FROM THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF HENRY J. JOHN M. D. THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART CLEVELAND, OHIO, U. S. A. GRAPHIC ART OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA EXHIBITION OF PRINTS FROM THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF H E N R Y J. J O H N, M. D. THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART CLEVELAND. OHIO, U. S. A. 1 922 INTRODUCTION and BIOGR AFIC AL DATA by L ADISL AV URBAN Perhaps many lovers of graphic art, who have had no opportunity closely to study this subject, wonder what the various terms, common to print-collectors and graphic artists, mean, such as etching, dry-point, aquatint, line-engraving, stipple-engraving, mezzotint-engraving, woodcut^ lithography and colour-print. The following is a brief attempt to explain these various terms. The word etch is of Teutonic origin and it means to eat or to bite. Hence comes the word etching, the process of which is as follows: The etcher takes a copper-plate, polished on one side and covered with a thin coating of the so called etching-ground, a compound of asphaltum, resin, and wax. The etching-ground is then blackened with smoke and the artist draws his subject by means of a special needle, cutting lines through the film of the etching-ground to the surface of the copper-plate. Having his design completed he immerses the plate in a bath of acid which immediately attacks the naked metal. The heavier and darker lines need, of course, a longer exposure to the acid biting than lines of finer and more delicate character. The copper-plate, with the picture "eaten in", is then thoroughly cleaned and goes to the printing press. The printing of etchings is an art in itself recquiring a considerable skill and is generally done by the etchers themselves. 7 The technique of stipple-engraving is very much Hke that of an etching, only that here the artist produces the various effects of light and shade by groupping the dots, eliminating from his picture entirely the drawing of lines. When the artist with a needle scratches his design directly into the copper-plate without first laying the etching-ground and without using the acid we call this the dry-point technique, which is closely related to the line-engraving. In mezzotint the well polished surface of the copper-plate is roughened by means of a toothed tool called a rocker, which makes small hollows or dents in the metal. The imprint from such a grounded plate would be perfectly black. The artist has to scrape the ground to smooth out the rough places in the form of his subject and thus produce a mezzotint. The aquatint is a process in which finely-powdered resin is dispersed over the copper-plate. By heating the plate to a certain degree the resin is melted and baked upon the metal, forming grains finer or coarser according to the finess or coarseness of the powder used. Thus acid may etch only between the grains of resin producing that peculiar effect which this method suggests in its name. in the technique of soft ground (vernis mou) one uses a soft, greasy ground, the principle part of which is a fat that does not harden. On a plate which is covered by this ground, the etcher places tissue or other paper of a distinctive texture or a piece of silk which, by means of a roller, he presses down lightly. With soft or hard pencils he draws upon this paper or silk, which, in the places where he makes his marks, adheres more or less firmly to the plate. In removing this paper or silk covering, the etching- 8 ground is lifted with it in those places where lines have been drawn, baring the plate correspondingly while the rest of the etching-ground remains. The lines of a soft-ground show the texture of the superimposed material and have uneven edges. A colour-etching is produced by the imprint from several plates, usually three in number, each plate being made just for a single color, or else from a single plate on which the different colored areas are inked in with brushes or stamps. The art of wood-engraving or Woodcutting consists in transferring the design to a woodblock and then employing the knife and gravers to cut and dig away the wood between the lines. The wood that is left untouched, prints. Thus wood-cutting and wood-engraving is the opposite of etching; in the former the lines rise from the ground (surface printing), while in the latter the Hues are incised, etched into the plate, sunk below its surface (intaglio printing). Lithography y or writing on stone, is a method of reproduction by which a drawing is printed from a slab of limestone. The printing surface is neither in relief nor sunk, as the process rests solely upon the mutually repelling reaction of grease and water. The drawing is done with a special ink or crayon, the greasy substance of which is readily absorbed by the porous stone, and all such places will repulse water while the rest of the surface will take it freely. The drawing will take the oily printers ink, but the moistened parts of the stone will repell it. Lifhography was invented in I 796 by a Bohemian, Alois Senef elder, who was born in Prague on November 6, 1771. 9 ALEX, Adolf, J., (1890 — ) is the pseudonym of Adolf Jelmek, born in Strmilov, Czechoslovakia. He was a pupil of Max Svabinsky and, at one time, was a student at the Munich Academy of Arts. For subject matters he is concerned chiefly with the dramatic representations of characters. His prints, depicting life in the Army and Gypsy camps, are full of vitality and atmosphere. BILEK, Frantisek, (1872 — ) born in Chynov, Czecho- slovakia, is one of the foremost sculptors and woodcarvers of that country. After having completed his studies at the Prague Academy of Arts he went to Paris where he drew inspiration from the vast treasures of art. His subjects are of religious, mystic, and symbolic character, and are quite often drawn from the glorious epoch of the Bohemian Reformation. Not finding time enough to create all his dreams in stone and wood he produced the following sets of prints: The Prayers — Our Father — Building the Temple of the Future — and The Path. We have also his wonderful interpretation of Calvary in woodcuts, originally a monumental series of woodcarvings. Of the book illustrations we name merely those which he prepared for the special editions of the poems of his friends, Julius Zeyer and Otokar Bfezina. BOETTINGER, Hugo, (1880— ) born in Plzen, Cze- choslovakia, studied at the Prague Academy of Arts. Besides the oil paintings of allegorical subjects he devotes himself to caricature- drawings of prominent personalities. 10 B R AU N ERO VA, Zdenka,( 1 862—) born in Prague, studied under Chittusi and later under Curtois in Paris. The artist is one of the first Czechoslovak etchers to treat her subjects in a modern style. Her prints depicting the picturesque corners of ancient Prague reveal the charms of a true etcher's method and vision. ENGELMUELLER,Ferdinand,(l867— )whowas born in Prague makes the centre of his interest the beauties of the plains along the river Labe. At times he wanders off to the Italian orchards or to the sombre City of Venice. A moody romanticism and a picturesqueness one can always find in all his plates. KOBLIHA,Frantisek,(l 877 — )born inPrague where he studied at the Academy of Arts. To name the most important works of his we would mention the following: Vision - Prague - To- ward Morning - The Revengeful Melody - TheWoman - Tristan - May - Moonlight Nights - Don Quixote - and Bookplates. KO N U P E K, J an, ( 1 883— ) was born in Mlada Boleslav, Czechoslovakia. An artistic education was given to him at the Prague Academy of Arts. At present he is a professor of drawing at the State School of Crafts in Plzeii. The two volumes of Western Bohemias Barocco, The Hymns of the Night, Etchings for Shakespeare's Hamlet, for Zorilla*s Don Juan, for Erben's Boquet, and for Dante's Inferno deserve special attention. He illustrated also a number of books. KUPKA,Frantisek, (1871— ) born in Dobruska, Cze- choslovakia, resides in Paris where he won fame as a painter and 11 artist of a high culture. One of the first graphic plates of his is the composition known under the name "Les Fous'*, in which he satirized the historical and social movements. Further he illustrated '*L*Homme et la Terre*' of Elysee Reclus, '*Erinnyes" of Leconle de Lisle, and '*Lysistrata** of Aristophanes. A French publication came out in Paris by L. Arnould Gremilly entitled "Frank Kupka'* with illustrations by the artist himself. LAUD A, Richard, (1873—) bom in Jistebnice, Cze- choslovakia. Southern Bohemia's landscapes depicted in his set of prints called "From Southern Bohemia" deserve attention. LOLEK, Stanislav, (1873 — ) born in Palom'n, Czecho- slovakia, has shown special interest in woodland scenery and animal life. He was a pupil of Julius Mafak in Prague. MAJER, Antonin, (1882 — ) born in Prague, lived later in the northeastern part of Bohemia, where he devoted himself to depicting the scenic beauties of the country, especially those which can be found along the banks of the Jizera River. The artist is active in the realm of etching and woodcut. MYSLBEK, Karel, (1874—1915) born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, was a son of the famous Czech sculptor Joseph Vaclav Myslbek. For his oil paintings and for his etchings he chose melancholy themes from the lives of the emigrants, the blind, the proletariat, and so forth. An untimely death during the World War prevented the fulfilment of his artistic intentions. 12 PREISSIG, Vojtech, (1873—) born in Svetec. Cze- choslovakia, entered the State School of Arts and Crafts in Prague and spent also several years in Paris studying graphic arts with Schmid and Delaune of the Ecole Colarossi. For a time he was with Marold and Mucha. Master of technique and of the pecul- iarities of the various styles of engraving, he published in Czecho- slovakia the first book on the graphic technique, which is known ill the United States under the title of Colour Etchings (New York). His graphic works are chiefly decorative in nature. At the present time he is the head of the Department of Printing and Graphic Arts at the Wentworth Institute in Boston. S I LO V S K Y, Vladimir, ( 1 89 1 — ) born in Liban, Cze- choslovakia, began to study architecture in the Prague School of Technology, changing later to the School of Arts and Crafts. Max Svabinsky was one of his master-teachers. Social struggles, the misery of war, various events of every-day life, scenes from the foundries, from the steel mills and from the mines, are a rich source of inspiration to this artist. His plates are often crowded with the figures of workingmen, old women, men, and hungry children; he makes us feel the ache of their limbs, stiff with fatigue, and to see the patience in their eyes. STRETTI, Viktor, (1878—) bom in Plasy, Czecho- slovakia, spent three years at the Prague Academy of Arts, finishing his studies in Munich, where he learned to etch under the guidance of Peter Halm. Besides many city and country views, figure studies, and landscapes, the three sets of his prints show Paris, the Thames River, and Ostende, as they appeared 13 to his visionary temperament. We have from him specimens of all the various techniques of etching with the exception of the woodcut. From Paris he brought to Czechoslovakia the French custom of New Year cards. STRETTI-ZAMPONI,Jaromir,(]882— )born in Plasy, Czechoslovakia, younger brother of Viktor Stretti, began his career as a bank clerk and later settled down to the life of an artist. Colour-prints are his speciality. Besides the views from Paris, Rouen, and Venice, ancient Prague attracts him with its manifold beauties, where he seems to find ever new and pictur- esque views. SIMON, Frantisek, T„ (1877 — ) born in Zeleznice, Czechoslovakia, graduated at the Prague Academy of Arts. At the beginning of his artistic career he visited Southern Europe, where he interested himself especially in the Slavic countries: Bosnia, Herzegovina, Dalmatia, and Montenegro. There his artistic temperament and his sense of beauty made ample use of the characteristics of Southern Slavs and the scenic beauties of their countries. After spending a few years in Italy and London he settled in Paris, where he remained until the outbreak of the World War. In Paris he devoted himself to mono- and poly- chrome etchings and became a member of the Societe de la Gravure en Couleurs, of the Societe desPeintres-graveurs Frangais, and of the Societe de la Gravure sur Bois, as well as Secretary of the Salon d'Automne. Georges Petit in Paris published about 45 of his plates. Others were published by A. Roullier in Chi- cago, Fred Keppel in New York, Wed G. Dorens in Amsterdam, 14 and J. Stenc in Prague. Noteworthy are his etchings from the destroyed City of Rheims and his sets of prints called "Paris Motives'* and "Hradcany'* (Castle of Prague). The artist is a member of the Czech Academy of Arts and Sciences, the curator of the Modern Gallery in Prague, and one of the founders of "Hollar" — a society of Czech graphic artists. His prints show a most intimate knowledge of scenic beauty and a wonderful skill in depicting it. F. T. Simon is one of the Czech artists who is best known on the foreign print-markets. SVABINSKY,Max,(1873— ) born in Kromenz, Cze- choslovakia, graduated at the Prague Academy of Arts, where he is now the head of the Graphic School. Although he is first and foremost a painter, who knows how to catch with his brush the human likeness and to express his visions on large canvasses and surfaces, he today leads in the Czechoslovak graphic art. He might be called a graphic poet, an artist of lofty imagination and of high originality. Graceful etchings of trees and woodland scenery, landscapes of restful beauty, noble portraits, days and nights with their wonderful contrast of light and darkness, plates large or in miniature, bear unmistakably the mark of a genius. Magnificent are his sets of prints In the Primeval IVoods and the Paradise Sonata, where gorgeous tropical vegetation, beautiful feminine nudes, butter- flies, tigers, and strange birds appear at their master's command in proper time and in proper environement. Svabinsky's plates mark the pinnacle in the evolution of the Czechoslovak graphic art. TONDL, Karel, (1893 — ) born in Krasno, Czechoslo- vakia, was a pupil of Jan Preisler at the Prague Academy of 15* Arts and later of Max Svabinsky at the Graphic School. In 1 920 he went to Paris on a traveling-fellowship granted by the French Government, where he acquired a deep knowledge of graphic art, especially of the woodcut. There he also held an exhibition of his etchings in the Societe Nationale and the Artistes Frangais. UPRKA, Joza, (1862—) born in Knezdub, Czecho- slovakia, is one of the most prominent Czechoslovak painters. Peasant folks in their picturesque national costumes, peasant life in general, and the beauty and brightness of country scenes entirely absorb his interest. While oil painting is this artist's real domain, his masterly draughtsmanship finds expression in the etching with its comparative coldness and lack of color. VI K, Karel, (1883 — ) born in Horice, Czechoslovakia, interests himself chiefly in woodcut. Best known are his sets of prints entitled In the Mountains and The Bohemian Paradise. VONDROUS, Jan, C, (1 884 — ) was born in Chotu- sice, Czechoslovakia. He came to United States with his parents, who emigrated to this country when he was nine years of age. His artistic education he obtained in four year's study under James D. Smillie in the schools of the National Academy of Design in New York. It is no wonder then that his colleagues from the Prague Art Society *'Manes" recognized him as a man belonging to the Anglo-American school. The artist, as a true etcher, is entirely absorbed in technical problems of etching. Ancient architecture appeals especially to his artistic sense, as can be seen from his numerous plates from Italy, Belgium, and Prague. 16 Last but not least are his prints with subject matter from the Uni- ted States: the Library of Columbia University, fishermen's boats, the preparation of fish for the market, work in the ship yards,' and so forth. During the World War he produced a series of prints entitled Kultmtraegers. The climax of his art, however, seems to be reached in his plates of Old Prague, whose dusky mysteries and beauties appeal to him with an abiding charm which is echoed by the refrain of an English ballad : **Yet the persons I pity Who know not the city The beautiful City of Prague!" WELLNER, Karel, (1875 -) born in Unhost', Cze- choslovakia, is a professor of drawing in Olomouc, Moravia. A large portion of his prints present the beauties of this city and its surroundings. 17 For the rest, it is my pleasant duty to thank Mr. Frantisek Zakavec, the art-critic of Prague, and Henry J. John, M. D. for various information and counsel, and also the Czechoslovak iNational Alliance of America for the financial aid which made this edition possible. Cleveland, Ohio, June, 1 922. ^ ^' 19 INDEX OF ETCHINGS ON EXHIBITION. ALEX, A.J. 1 . Devotion 2. Going to Market 3. At the Watering Place 4. The Uhlans 5. Charge of the Cavahy 6. A Gypsy Camp 7. Gypsies 8. Adamites BILEK, F. 9. Christ 1 0. Design for a Monument 1 1 . In the Temple I 2. John Hus 1 3. Entrance to the Temple 1 4. The Highest Justice I. 1 5. The Highest Justice II. 1 6. The Significance of the Cross 1 7. The Highest Justice III. 1 8. The Highest Justice IV. 1 9. John Amos Comenius BOETTINGER, H. 20. T. G. Masaryk 21. Scene from a Dramatic School 21 22. At the Fountain 23. Ex Libris 24. Ex Libris ENGELMUELLER, F. 23. A Motif from Italy HOFBAUER, A. 26. Prague HORKY, F. 27. St. Jacob's, Kutna Hora 28. Porch of the ItaHan Manor, Kutna Hora KOBLIHA, F. 29. Prague at Night 30. Birds 3 1 . In the Park 32. A Forest in Bohemia 33. At Dawn 34. Illustration 35. Illustration 36. Tatra Mountains, Slovakia 37. Prague LAUDA, R. 38. Old Men 39. Portrait 40. Washer-women 4 I . In the Summer 42. A Tramp LOLEK, S. 43. A Fox Family 44. Woodcock 45. The Deer MAJER. A. 46. Spring 47. Storm 48. Camping 49. A Bohemian Cottage 50. Morning in the Fields 5 1 . Morning at the River MORAVEC. A. 52. An Old Castle, Bohemia 53. In the Fall 54. Spring Time 55. A Village, Bohemia NAUMAN, A. 56. Visiting his Friend an Etcher PREISSIG, V. 57. Spring Time 58. A Musician 23 59. Bookplate 60. Bookplate 61. Bookplate 62. The Bluebird 63. New Year Card, 1920 64. Art Students' League Folder 65. Plates from Seven Orchids ROEHLING, V. 66. St. Nicholas', Prague 67. Old Part of Prague SILOVSKY, V. 68. Breadline in Prague during the World War 69. In the Steel Works 70. Merry-go-round 7 I . Entrance to the Market 72. Puppet Show 73. Feathers 74. Market 75. A Reading Room 76. The National Theatre, Prague 77. A Coal Dealer 78. Waiting Room 79. Portrait 80. A Construction 8 1 . Waiting for Rations 82. Brick Kiln 83. In the Steel Works SIMON, F. T. 84. Simon in his Studio 83. On the Beach 86. Hradcany, a view from the Belvedere, Prague 87. Old Prague at Night 88. Hradcany in Winter 89. The Outskirts of Prague 90. Hradcany from Charles Bridge, Prague 9 1 . Hradcany from the Quai, Prague 92. Joseph Manes 93. Return from the Front 94. A Water-carrier, Morocco 95. Winter in Hana, Moravia 96. Ernest Denis 97. The Golden Street, Prague 98. Skating on the Vltava River, Prague 99. The Bastille, Paris 1 00. Place de la Concorde, Paris 101. Alhambra a Generaliff, Spain 1 02. Arc du Triomphe, Paris 1 03. Houses in Amsterdam 1 04. Amsterdam under Snow 103. Market in Tanger I 06. Book Venders in Paris 107. Channel in Amsterdam 1 08. Tyn Church in Prague 1 09. Riva Dei Schiavoni, Venice 1 10. On the Beach, Venice 25 111. Charles Bridge, Prague 1 1 2. Charles Bridge, Prague 1 1 3. Charles Bridge, Prague 1 1 4. The National Theatre, Prague 115. Place d'Erlon, Rheims 116. Prague 117. Courtyard in the Castle, Prague 118. Old Prague 1 1 9. Charles Bridge, Prague STRETTI-ZAMPONI, J. 1 20. Market on St. Nicholas* Eve, Prague 121. Snowbound Village, Bohemia 1 22. A Corner in Old Prague 123. St. Vitus' in Winter, Prague 1 24. Jewish Cemetery in Winter, Prague 125. Village in the Mountains, Bohemia 1 26. Hradcany from Masaryk's Quai, Prague 127. Saving the World for Democracy 1 28. Painting the Map of Czechoslovakia 1 29. Hradcany in the Fall, Prague 1 30. St. Nicholas', Prague 131. Masaryk's Quai, Prague 1 32. Hradcany, Prague 133. Hradcany in Winter, Prague 1 34. Hradcany in Summer, Prague 135. Hradcany in Spring, Prague 1 36. A Country Home, Bohemia 137. Bohemian Village 1 38. Doge's Palace, Venice 1 39. Set. Nicolas du Chardonette, Paris 1 40. Ponte Nuovo, Venice 141. Channel of Chioggi STRETTI, V. 142. London 143. A Dance Hall 1 44. The Slovak Women 145. On the Thames River 1 46. On the Thames River 147. On the Thames River 1 48. Ostende 1 49. On the Vltava River, Prague 1 50. On the Banks of Normandy 151. The Czech Fishermen 1 52. A Lithographic Shop SVABINSKY, M. 153. Ceres 1 54. Making Hay 155. The Harvest 1 56. Evening 157. Icka 1 58. The Artist's own Portrait 1 59. The Artist's own Portrait 160. A Wood 161. Harwest Time 1 62. Washing 27 163. The Harvest ] 64. The Reap ers 1 65. Joseph Manes 1 66. Hanus Schwaiger 1 67. A Lonely Road 1 68. A Woman with a Dog 1 69. The Harvest Field 1 70. A Turkey Gobbler 171. Mikulas Ales 1 72. Camellia 173. The Plowman 1 74. Joseph Manes 175. Morning 1 76. Noon 177. F. X. Salda 1 78. Mrs. Svabinsky 1 79. Mother and Daughter 1 80. Piety 181. Taking the Body from the Cross 1 82. White Camellia 183. Bedrich Smetana 1 84. Antonm Dvorak 185. Jaroslav Kvapil 1 86. Farmer's Courtyard 187. Picking Berries 1 88. A Charge of a Tiger 1 89. Antonin Sova 1 90. Portrait of Children 191. Arcadia I. 1 92. Arcadia II. ] 93. T. G. Masaryk 1 94. Summer Night 195. Summer Day TONDL, K. 196. The New York Harbor 197. Seamstress 1 98. Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris 199. Skating 200. Persecuted 201. Ernest Denis 202. Portrait of a Composer 203. Artist's own Portrait 204. Winter in a Czech Village 205. Country in Sunshine 206. Under Clouds 207. At the Hearth UPRKA, J. 208. The Farmer VIK, K. 209. In the Fall 210. In the Summer 211. Bohemian Country Scene VONDROUS, J. C. 212. The Town Hall, Prague 29 213. St. Vitus', Prague 2 1 4. St. Martin's, Ypres, Belgium 215. New Year Card, 1914 216. New Year Card, 1918 217. New Year Card, 1919 218. New Year Card, 1920 219. New Year Card, 1922 220. Christmas Card, 1918 221. Christmas Card, 1920 222. Ex Libris 223. An Announcement 224. St. Nicholas', Prague 225. St. Vitus , Prague 226. Tyn Church, Prague 227. Market Place and St. Jacob's, Prague 228. Tyn Church at Night, Prague 229. The Old Town Hall, Prague 230. St. Nicholas', Prague 231. Belvedere, Prague 232. Russian Church, Prague 233. The National Theatre, Prague 234. St. Vitus', Prague WELLNER, K. 235. The Goat Street, Olomouc 236. Night View from Masaryk's Depot, Olomouc 237. Devotion 238. A View from the University Library, Olomouc 239. The Castle, Olomouc ILLUSTRATIONS. A. J. Alex: Gipsies. Fr. Kobliha: An Illustration. R. Lauda: Summer A. Majer: Spring. V. Silovsky: Puppet Show. Strettl-Zamponi : Hradcany from the Quai, Prague. Simon: The National Theatre, Prague. M. Svabinsky: White Camellia. M. Svabinsky: Evening. K. Tondl : Ernest Denis. J. Uprka: The Farmer. J. C. Vondrous: Belvedere, Prague.