Mikuláš Medek

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Mikuláš Medek (born November 3, 1926 in Prague ; † August 23, 1974 there ) was a Czech painter. He was a grandson of the Impressionist painter Antonín Slavíček , son of the general of the Czechoslovak army and writer Rudolf Medek and brother of the journalist Ivan Medek . He is considered one of the most important representatives of Czech modern painting of the post-war period. He was the husband of the photographer Emila Medková .

plant

Medek's artistic legacy can be divided into three periods. He was initially influenced by the tradition of surrealism . The second phase is the beginning of the 1950s at a time of brutal communist political repression in Czechoslovakia . He began to pay more attention to the purposely simplified figurative work. Figures in a room of a simulated optimistic worldview, the schizophrenic nature of humanity, which hides its authentic face in fear, feigns loyalty to the system.

At the turn of the 50s and 60s, the most important period of Medek's work began to take shape and concentrated on abstract painting . Structural dialogues between the macroscopic and microscopic world in a metaphorical sense illustrate fundamental questions of human life, supported by passion or mysterious blackness, formally through the use of special materials and innovative techniques of emulsion painting.

The so-called “prepared images” made of colored materials, arranged in the form of printed symbols with a mystical atmosphere of the whole. Medek created the original symbolism of sign systems with special shapes and colors as metaphors for human existence in its tragic, painterly and painful reality. The intense emotional mystical expression, the inner consistency and authenticity of the message and the spiritual energy that emanates from his pictures make Medek one of the most important and original personalities not only of Czech, but also European painting of the 20th century.

Thanks to secret exhibitions, Medek's work has become a role model for younger radical artists. After 1960 Medek became known to the public, with his most famous work as an altarpiece in the Jedovnice Church (1963) and as a composition for the interiors of the state airline Československé aerolinie in Damascus , Košice (1963), Paris (1964), Prague (1969) and New York (1970).

Medek's works are largely owned by renowned galleries (e.g. Sydney , New York, Amsterdam , Rotterdam , Hamburg , Bochum , Bratislava , Skopje , etc.) or in private collections. The first public exhibition of his works in the Czech Republic was held in 2002, but some of his works were exhibited in the local gallery in Roudnice nad Labem as early as 1988 without prior notice.

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Sickness and death

From 1962 Medek suffered from a severe form of diabetes , which was the cause of his later osteoporosis and general weakness. His health quickly escalated, also due to persistent severe psychological problems. He died in Prague in August 1974 at the age of 47 from complications related to diabetes.

Overview of the most important works

photos

  • Surrealism: Magnetic Fish , Noise of Silence , The World of the Onion , etc.
  • Existential surrealism: head dreaming an imperialist dream , naked thorns , Cranach's overly poetry with imperialist flower , day and night , hook , scream , kiss , feast cycles , ad.
  • Prepared Paintings: Iron Cross , Celebration of 21,870 Red Centimeters , Venus Cycle , Own Cycle, Prepared Paintings , etc.
  • Imaginative painting: cycle of guests without hosts , tower designer , thirsty angels , angels in handcuffs I, II , Grand Inquisitor , Annunciation , movable grave I.–IV. Medek's last painting was Four Circles (1974).

Book illustration

Works in architecture

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.galerierudolfinum.cz/cs/vystavy/archiv-vystav/mikulas-medek/
  2. ↑ Vladimír Hirsch : Mikuláš Medek: Metaphysical transformation of Pain. In: blogspot.com , February 5, 2014, accessed August 31, 2018.
  3. ↑ ČRO Vltava May 17, 2012, Panó MM pro ČSA Košice Mikuláš Medek - A monumental work for the first time in Prague (Czech)
  4. ^ [1] Exhibition / Gallery Rudolfinum
  5. ↑ [2] Mikuláš Medek / Pictures on Pinterest
personal data
SURNAME Medek, Mikuláš
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Czech painter
DATE OF BIRTH November 3, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Prague
DATE OF DEATH 23rd August 1974
Place of death Prague