(Zlunice near Nový Bydzov 1885–1946 Prague)
A bouquet of tulips in a landscape, signed, dated V. Spala 39, oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private Collection, Vienna

‘In art, man is ultimately the creator, who determines the existence of the images, their character and their expression.... Don’t confuse nature with a work of art.’

Václav Spála
1902/1903: private instruction with F. Engelmüller. 1903- 1909: study at the Prague Academy under V. Bukovac and F. Thiele. 1909: member of the Mánes Association of Fine Artists; resignation from this association and in 1911 membership in the Group of Fine Artists. 1912: return to the Mánes Association and in 1936 their chairman. 1918: member of the group of artists ‘Tvrdosijni’ (‘The Tenacious Ones’). From 1907 on: repeated trips to Dubrovnik, journey to France (1911), period of study in Italy (1913). 1936: participated in the delegation of Czechoslovak fine artists to Moscow. 1935, 1945 and 1947 (after his death): important solo exhibitions. 1946: declared National Artist. Spála’s work developed, in an independent synthesis of the most significant artistic movements of the era (Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, Orphism) into his own mature oeuvre, reckoning with the constructive values of colour.
From the catalogue: Tschechische Kunst der 20er+30er Jahre Avantgarde und Tradition, Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt 1989