THE MASTERPIECES OF
VLASTIMIL KOŠVANEC
Czech Centre Prague
07/05 – 06/06/2015
Italian Culture Institute in Prague
06/05 – 07/06/2015
National Museum – Bedřich Smetana
Museum
07/05 – 07/06/2015
Sorrow and gentleness. These are the words that
can be used to characterise the work of Vlastimil
Košvanec, a Czech artist whose life's path was
altered by war and the post-war development of
Czechoslovakia. This May, visitors of the Czech
Centre Prague, Italian Culture Institute in
Prague, and the Bedřich Smetana Museum can
become acquainted with the life and work of this
wrongfully neglected artist. The organiser of this
expansive exposition of the artist's work, the
Museo Martinengo, has invited the collaboration
of a trio of renowned partners: the Czech
Centres, the National Museum, and the Italian
Culture Institute in Prague.
One of the most attractive cultural events of the
Czech Centre Prague's spring season begins on
07/05/2015.
The exposition, The Masterpieces of Vlastimil
Košvanec, was put together by the Museo
Martinengo, who owns the largest foreign collection
of Košvanec's works. The exposition is
complemented
by
fifteen
paintings
from
the collections of the National Museum. A portion of
the exhibited works will be on display at the Czech
Centre Prague gallery on Rytířská Street,
in the Italian Culture Institute and at the Bedřich
Smetana Museum (National Museum).
Based on the concept by Italian curator Giuseppe
Franzoni, the exposition is divided into three
sections, each of them holding representative pieces
fromthe Italian collection belonging to the artist's
younger style period, supplemented by later works
from the National Museum's Physical Education
and Sport and Labour Movement collections. These
primarily consist of virtually unknown paintings
and drawings that are not on display and come from
the painter's style period beginning in the 1950’s.
The set theme of Košvanec's works from
the National Museum collection focuses on scenes
of the Spartakiad mass gymnastic events linked to
the particular historical era and similar events that
were so prominent in this period. The selection
of works on display will help in the clarification
of some of the controversial stages of the artist's life.
Vlastimil Košvanec is valued primarily for his
distinctive painting techniques and inimitable style,
despite the fact that his work has lain forgotten for
almost half a century. Košvanec's first, and for many
years also his last, post-war exhibition in Prague
took place in 1961, since which the artist had not
been exhibited in such a comprehensive manner.
MICHAEL
ZACHAŘ
ON
VLASTIMIL
KOŠVANEC
"The colouristically prominent oil paintings
of Vlastimil Košvanec (1887–1961) became
the object of heightened collector interest in the late
1990’s, almost a quarter century after the artist's
death. In the panorama of the art of the 20th century,
classic art history defined several stable research
circuits, and the artistic expression of many artists
were labelled as outmoded, derived, abject, or even
inartistic. As a student of Vojtěch Hynais, Košvanec
received the best foundation he possibly could
at the Academy in Prague, including subliminal
communication on the freedom of artistic creation.
Although we all know Košvanec's landscapes and
portraits, caricatures and illustrations, the foundation
of his legacy is, in actuality, the allegorical union
of man and nature, the image of a woman in bucolic
natural scenery. One could say that Košvanec's
women are a sort of Venus or Madonna dressed in
period clothing. Musically, andante amoroso is the
term that would best capture the nature of these
colourfully persuasive images. The artist used bold
brush techniques and showy colourfulness to shape
his vision of the blissful Arcadia and the image
of a world that is the yearning and destination of its
own journey.
Today, Košvanec's paintings can be considered
indisputable artefacts of French-style impressionism
in a Central European context and are sought-after
items on the artistic auction market."
in contemporary tendentious work. From 1956
onwards, he concentrated on preparing his first
exhibition, which focused on promotional and
physical education themes. In collaboration with
the State Museum of Physical Education and Sports,
he created paintings inspired by the 1st Labourer's
Spartakiad in 1921 and the 1st National Spartakiad
in 1955. Despite the obstacles, he continued to paint
until his death in November 1961.
LIFE AND WORKS
Vlastimil Košvanec was born on the 14th
of December 1887 in Karlín. After completing his
studies at the České reálné gymnasium grammar
school, he studied mathematics and physics for two
years at university, and only then applied to
the Academy of Arts, where he became the student
of Vojtěch Hynais and Croatian painter, Professor
Vlaho Bukovac. His studies at the academy
(1909/1912) were a pivotal period for Vlastimil
Košvanec's growth, as were his travels, in which he
visited many countries across Europe: Italy, France,
the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Yugoslavia,
Montenegro, etc.
In the early 20th century, Košvanec's works
acknowledged
the
French
traditions
of impressionism and symbolism; later, however,
his
works
were
dominated
more
by
the expressionism of Central European art. Having
become a part of the Prague cultural elite, the artist's
most successful period was during the years between
the two world wars, particularly from 1929, when he
joined the Arts Forum association. He made his
living as a book illustrator and portraitist, and he
also authored satirical comics in well-known Prague
magazines.
The artist's interwar artistic period was at first
disrupted by the German occupation of the Czech
lands, after which he was forced to deal with
accusations of collaborating with the protectorate
regime and was consequently imprisoned in 1947 for
eight months. In 1949, when his wife, sister, and two
brothers died, his life's hardships led to his
hospitalisation at a psychiatric ward. He later
assumed care of his sister-in-law and nieces,
and tried to support all of them with his pension
and artistic activities. However, his reputation had
been stained, and so he sought employment
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CZECH CENTRES
Czech Centres are an agency of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs for the promotion of the Czech Republic abroad.
They work to promote the Czech cultural scene in an
international arena. The network of Czech Centres
operates in 22 metropolises and large cities on three
continents. The Czech Centres general manager is Vilma
Anýžová.
Czech Centres for the visual arts

In 2013, we organised over 300 visual arts
events.

We initiate and support the projects of Czech
artists in galleries abroad.

Our own exhibition spaces give priority to the
contemporary art scene in association with local
artists and institutions.

We organise curatorial and journalistic trips to
the Czech Republic from abroad.

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
We are a partner of the Jindřich Chalupecký
Award and numerous other prestigious awards.

We support Czech participation in international
artistic trade fairs, and organise accompanying
programmes (discussions, workshops, etc.).