František Muzika
František Muzika (born June 26, 1900 in Prague ; † November 1, 1974 ) was a Czech artist and a prominent representative of the avant-garde in Czechoslovakia in the first half of the 20th century. He was a member of Devětsil since 1921 and Mánes since 1923. Muzika was a painter, graphic artist, set designer, illustrator, editor and professor at the Academy of Art and Industrial Design (UMPRUM) in Prague.
biography
After completing his studies at the Academy of Arts in Prague in 1924, František Muzika received an annual scholarship from the French government to study at the École des Beaux-Arts . In Paris he also received private lessons from František Kupka in his studio. In Paris he met Max Jacob , who brought him to Léonce Rosenberg . On Sundays he met regularly with Joseph Bernard , where he also met Aristide Maillol and Roger Bissière , with whom he exhibited at the Salon d'Automne . In 1925, after his return from Paris, his experience with the work of Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso led Muzika to change his painting style.
Over the course of more than fifty years, Muzika's work has seen several changes. “However, she always remained true to herself and the starting points of Muzika's generation. She never let herself be lured into the wrong path by short-term fashion trends or cheaply earned success, never got stuck in the stagnant waters of the Convention or disappeared into her own discoveries and approaches. "
In his final years he suffered from heart disease. He died on November 1, 1974 in his studio with his last, unfinished work Schodiště on the easel.
painting
First period (1918-1924)
Muzika was initially influenced by Bohumil Kubišta . His first pictures show still life and architecture. Then he switched to a primitivist neoclassicism . He focused on pastoral scenes and everyday life.
Second period (1925-1936)
After Paris, he radically revised his artistic poetics. Objects lost their material character. His painting style relaxed. He created a new pictorial reality in the form of lyrical cubism . After 1930 Muzika incorporated surrealist elements into his process. The poetics of Muzika's pictures were influenced by the work of Giorgio de Chirico and Muzika's own experience as a set designer.
Third period (1936-1948)
Muzika responded to the Spanish Civil War , the occupation of Czechoslovakia, and the brutality of the war. Muzika's wartime shows the agony and grief of this time with allegorical images. His pictures with imaginary landscapes and dark atmospheres created the feeling of dramatic tension and darkness of time.
post war period
In the post-war period, František Muzika developed his own poetics, which in close accordance with the tendencies of contemporary international art further elaborated the original direction of his poetic worldview.
Last period (1948–1974)
Muzika's subject of his paintings was the petrified world. Muzika erased the differences between the real and the unreal, the microcosm and the macrocosm. His work emphasized a strong symbolism.
More work
In 1927 Muzika began to expand his interest into other areas such as stage design and book illustration. He was the editor of cultural magazines. An example of his 107 sets is Julietta by Bohuslav Martinů in the Czech National Theater (1938). In 1927 he began working on the book Krásné Písmo (History of the Latin Script), which was published in Czechoslovakia in 1958 and in German in 1965. He also designed many posters, for example for exhibitions by Emil Filla (1947) and Josef Wagner (1957) and for the music festival “ Prague Spring ” (1946, 1947, 1981, 1946, 1947, 1981). The logo with the “f” for “forte” is still valid today.
Exhibitions
Muzika's paintings and drawings can be found in numerous Czech and foreign galleries, including the Center Pompidou in Paris. Since 1922 there have been numerous music exhibitions in Czechoslovakia.
International group exhibitions
- 1948 - Venice Biennale
- 1964 - Biennale, Venice
- 1968 - Obsessions et Visions, Gallerie Andre Francois Petit, Paris (group exhibition with Giorgio de Chirico , Max Ernst , Salvador Dali , Rene Margritte )
- 1969 - Surrealism in Europe, Baukunst-Galerie, Cologne, Germany
- 1969 - “Phases”, Musee d'Ixelle, Brussels
International solo exhibitions
- 1965 - Galleria del Naviglio, Milan, Italy
- 1965 - Galleria del Cavallino, Venice, Italy
- 1967 - Galeria Maya, Brussels, Belgium
- 1971 - Lambert Monet Art Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland
- 1972 - Baukunst-Galerie, Cologne, Germany
International stage design exhibitions
- Vienna 1935
- Milan 1936
- Paris 1937
- Sao Paulo 1959
- Traveling exhibition, South America 1960–1963
Awards
International
- 1937 - 2 awards, exhibition in Paris (stage design)
- 1939 - 2 awards, VI. Triennial, Milan
- 1959 - Gold medal, graphic book art, Leipzig
National
- 1939 - Honorary Prize, Society for Bibliophiles
- 1949 - State Prize for Book Design
- 1961 - Meritorious Artist Prize for graphic and educational works
- 1964 - Book prize for the work "Krasne Pismo" (Statni nakladatelstvi krasne literatury a umeni)
- 1966 - Distinction and medal of honor "Rad Prace" for artistic life's work and theoretical and educational work
Individual evidence
- ↑ František Muzika . Libri (Kdo byl kdo v našich dějinách ve 20. století), accessed on June 21, 2012 (Czech)
- ↑ a b Vlastimil Tetiva, Vlasta Koubská: František Muzika. Galerie Praha, 2012, ISBN 978-80-86990-14-9 , pp. 264, 458-469
- ^ Logo of the Prague Spring music festival on www.czech-festivals.cz
- ^ Archives Národní galerie Praha (National Gallery Archives), Prague, Czech Republic
- ↑ Obsessions et Visions (exhibit catalog) . Galerie André François Petit, 122, bd Haussmann, Paris 8e 1968.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Památník národního písemnictví Praha, Prague, Czech Republic
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Muzika, František |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Czech artist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 26, 1900 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Prague |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1st November 1974 |
| Place of death | Prague |