Roman Capitals

Chinese calligraphy emerged as a key source of inspiration for Zdeněk Sklenář beginning in the mid-1950s. In Roman Capitals, he connects this Eastern influence with the Latin alphabet for the first time, bringing together the two main influences that shaped his work. The impulse for this piece came from František Muzika’s two-volume book Krásné písmo (Beautiful script) from 1958, which focuses on the evolution and beauty of the Latin alphabet. On the canvas of Roman Capitals, letters lose their usual semantic function, no longer serving as carriers of meaning, but becoming a purely visual and aesthetic element. Here, Sklenář develops the main theme of his work at the time: an abstract colour field loosely shaped by smudges and a linear structure emerging from the shape of the letters. He worked with the blending of layers, in which individual elements overlap and dissolve into the colour field, creating a feeling of depth and spaciousness. Another characteristic of the work is the artist’s specific painting technique, which is expressed in the small perforations and scratches made on the layers of paint by sharp instruments. This gives the painting a rich structure that emphasises the energy of calligraphic drawing. Roman Capitals is not only an artistic experiment, but also a deep meditation on the essence of letters themselves. In this work, Sklenář uncovers their aesthetic value, combining colour, line, and space in a harmonic whole. The painting thus demonstrates his unique ability to transcend the boundary between script and painting and between Eastern and Western traditions. Even though he often turned to Asian calligraphy, in this work he emphasised his relationship to European cultural heritage and its timeless beauty. The value of the work is increased by its presentation at a prestigious exhibition in Bochum, Germany (Tschechoslowakische Kunst heute: Profile V, Städtische Kunstgalerie, Bochum, 16 May – 25 June 1965, cat. no. 225) and reproduction in a monograph (F. Šmejkal: Zdeněk Sklenář, Prague 1984, n.p., fig. 91). Assessed in consultation with Prof. J. Zemina and Z. Sklenář, the artist’s nephew. The professional opinion of PhDr. K. Srp is attached: “[...] The selection of the type of script in Sklenář’s work can be astounding; he was well-grounded in symbols, calligraphy and Eastern cultures, in which he found many stimuli, but this time he focused on ancient Europe and the areas that laid the foundations for today’s culture, offering its paramount forms, which have become unsurpassable and can only be imitated at best. [...].”