The Servant's Carol

Lada’s nostalgic winter scenery, inspired by childhood memories, is an example of a subject matter that began to appear more often in his work in the 1940s with his edition of Christmas postcards. Later, the choice of melancholic motifs was enhanced by a sad event – the death of his wife. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, he continued to depict idyllic scenes that became an escape from reality for him and allowed him to create his harmonious fairy-tale world. Lada was also attracted to the atmosphere of night walks under the cover of darkness throughout his life. In this case, the atmosphere of the night scene with snowflakes falling silently on the rural buildings and the surrounding landscape is intensified by the period of the Christmas holidays, most probably Christmas Eve. This impression supports a decorated tree in a snow-covered cottage, in front of which two figures stand with their backs turned to the beholder. A man in a long coat and a fur hat trumpets a Christmas carol, and a woman with a back basket is absorbed in her thoughts. Both, together with the statue of St. John, vividly complete the whole scene, which seems unusually calm and safe and depicts the spirituality and magic of Christmas. Assessed during consultations by prof. J. Zemina and PhDr. R. Michalová, Ph.D. The expertise of PhDr. P. Pečinková, CSc., is attached.