Anna Macková (1887-1969)

IN THE HARBOUR

Colour woodcut on hand-made paper, 26x35 cm (42,5x52 cm), recto in ink lower right below the print area the author`s signature "A. Macková", lower left the title of the work "V přístavu. Korčula.". Bent upper left corner outside the print area. In this sheet Macková approaches an aesthetic close to the principles of the Japanese colour woodcut more than ever before. The composition is built from large, flatly conceived colour fields, a limited palette and clearly drawn contours. The horizontal rhythm of the water and the sky is balanced by the vertical of the mast and the fine network of rigging, which divides the image in a manner similar to the linear structures in the landscapes of Hokusai or Hiroshige. The European context of this stylisation can be found in the tradition of Japonism, which from the end of the 19th century influenced modern graphic art – from the decorative synthesis of Félix Vallotton to the colour woodcuts of Emil Orlik. Macková transforms these impulses in a distinctive way: the Mediterranean harbour is not a description of a place, but a calm, almost meditative study of the balance between the construction of the ship, the rhythm of the water surface and the light of the evening sky. The result is an image in which the technical specificity of the maritime motif transforms into a harmonious, timeless composition.