Josef Váchal (1884-1969)

THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM

1925–1926
Colour woodcut on hand-made paper 25x24 cm (43x34 cm), recto in pencil lower right below the print area the author`s signature "J. Váchal", lower centre the title of the work "Zkáza Sodomy" and lower left the note "(Z Postyly Kacířské)", signed lower left in print "J. Váchal". A very rare copy from Váchal`s peak period. Váchal printed this motif as part of the book Koruna bludařstva to jest Postyla kacířská. As Váchal himself states in the publishing notes, this book was printed in 16 copies and furthermore "These woodcuts were, apart from the book, printed three more times on separate sheets and the blocks were destroyed during the work"; this is therefore one of a total of three loose sheets that Váchal produced. Slightly spotted paper. This colour woodcut was created in connection with the legendary Postila kacířská (1926–1927), one of the pinnacles of Váchal`s artist`s book, in which image, text and typography merge into a unified spiritual and artistic work. The composition with a vision of destruction and a devastated city belongs to the typical range of Váchal`s apocalyptic and moralistic motifs, in which the expressive treatment of lines, dramatic hatching and glowing colours become carriers of existential tension and mystical subtext. The exceptionality of the sheet lies not only in its artistic power, but above all in its rarity. The Postila kacířská was issued in a print run of only 16 copies, and from each block Váchal printed only three additional separate artist`s sheets. The blocks were then destroyed to definitively ensure the limited print run. The separate prints thus represent extraordinarily rare examples of Váchal`s graphic work and are among the most sought-after items in his oeuvre. The sheet is also a characteristic example of Váchal`s distinctive synthesis of Expressionism, folk imagination and spiritual symbolism, which places him among the most distinctive figures of European graphic art of the first half of the 20th century.