Vojtěch Preissig (1873-1944)

SLOVÁCKO

1909
42x48 cm, loosely inserted sheets in paper wrapper. Title page printed in black. Introduction by Will. Ritter, publisher F. Topič – bookseller in Prague. A set of six colour etchings on paper, 23x31 cm (27x36,8 cm). All recto signed in pencil lower right "Vojtěch Preissig", lower left marked with the artist`s stamp with initials "PV", recto marked with stamp "MGGS Praha". All recto mounted with tape. On the inside of the wrapper Ex libris Vytrvalostí k úspěchům z knih Jindřicha Waldese: 19,5x13 cm (26x18,8 cm), signed in pencil lower right "S. Kulhánek". The Slovácko set represents one of the key works of the early period of Vojtěch Preissig, in which his modern graphic thinking meets the then strong interest in folk culture and regional identity. Six colour etchings capture motifs of rural life throughout the year – from spring labours through agricultural scenes to autumn and winter moods – creating a coherent image of the landscape and the rhythm of traditional existence. Preissig here employs an exceptionally refined palette and decorative simplification of form, derived from a synthesis of Art Nouveau stylisation, Anglo-Scottish graphic reform and inspiration from Japanese colour printing. The compositions are built in flat planes, with an emphasis on the rhythm of lines and the harmony of colour fields; individual sheets function simultaneously as realistic records and as stylised symbols of the rural world. The significance of the set is underscored by the text of Swiss art historian William Ritter, who recognised in Preissig`s work a modern yet authentic expression of the Slavic landscape and culture. Slovácko thus stands on the boundary between ethnographic interest and European modernism, foreshadowing the artist`s later development towards markedly stylised and graphically disciplined work. Complete sets have survived only rarely; in their entirety they represent not only an important graphic ensemble but also an exceptionally representative bibliophile publication of early Czech modernism. The importance of this copy is further underscored by the provenance record; the ex libris of the prominent Czech industrialist and patron Jindřich Waldes.