Václav ŠPÁLA (1885 - 1946) Female Nude;

Ink, watercolor, paper (colored linocut (?)); 19.8 x 16.3 cm
Signed p. g.: V Spala ; p. d. V/S

Václav Špála (August 24, 1885 in Žlunice - May 13, 1946 in Prague) was a Czech painter, graphic artist and illustrator. He studied at the Prague Academy. He was a member of the Tvrdošíjní group with which he exhibited. At the beginning of his work he was influenced by Fauvism, later Cubism. He was a member of the Artists' Group in Prague, belonging to the young Czech modernists adhering to Cubism, which included artists such as Vincenc Benes, Josef Capek, Emil Filla and Otto Gutfreund. The Artists' Group organized two significant exhibitions in 1912 in the newly opened exhibition halls of the Municipal House in Prague. Václav Špála is counted among the greatest phenomena of Czech contemporary art. He has been alternately rejected and admired. He remains one of the most sought-after artists in the country. Špála was one of the first artists to be awarded the title of National Artist and was awarded it in 1946. Since 1959, Prague's contemporary art gallery, the Václav Špála Gallery, has borne his name.