Jan Svoboda (1934-1990)

MELANCHOLY

1963 / 1968
Gelatin silver print on semi-matte paper, printed in 1968. 56.8x40 cm. Verso in pencil, in the artist`s hand, title of the work and date, and no. "17" in a circle. Framed, matted, glazed. Corners and edges slightly bent, frayed and torn (max. 2.3 cm), verso with remnants of paper adhesive tape in places along the edges. "This particular copy is a later trial / exhibition print, probably from the late 1960s. According to an earlier statement by the artist`s widow, it is the only copy in the same maximum size as the original, which is now in a private collection. The photograph represents a pinnacle of Svoboda`s early period, influenced by Existentialism and Art Informel, and its original mounted print was, at the widow`s wish, displayed on Jan Svoboda`s coffin during his funeral." Pavel Vančát