Alois Bubák (1824-1870)

MOUNTAIN TORRENT

1862–1866
Oil on canvas, 78×62 cm (103×82 cm). Signed lower right of centre on a rock "ABubák". The work excels in the masterful rendering of the dynamics of flowing water. Bubák uses impasto layers of white paint to express the foaming water surface in contrast with the dark, finely detailed rocks in the foreground. The colour palette is based on brown and ochre earth tones, complemented by fresh green of conifers and a subtly modelled atmospheric background with mountain peaks. A characteristic work of Romantic Realism in which Bubák seeks not merely a topographical record of the landscape but endeavours to convey the emotional experience of its majesty and power. The work falls within the artist`s peak period (the 1860s), when after studying under Maximilian Haushofer he turned away from Biedermeier descriptiveness toward a freer, more atmospheric conception of landscape. The motif of turbulent water in a mountain valley was one of Bubák`s most successful subjects, which secured him a place among the elite of the Czech landscape school alongside names such as Adolf Chwala or Bedřich Havránek. Condition A. Accompanied by an expert report by PhDr. Šárka Leubnerová