Winter

Josef Lada’s fairytale childhood winters are an aspect of Czech cultural heritage that has long been appreciated by collectors of all generations. Lada created many similar compositions over the course of the 1940s, each emphasising a different detail and atmosphere. The scene in the painting is located in his native Hrusice, where the Church of St. Václav and its small cemetery can be recognised on the hill in the background. In the foreground, a happy scene unfolds: children play in the snow and build a snowman bigger than they are. The falling flakes transform the village into a fairytale location. In contrast to other works by Lada, the range of colour is economical, with tones of white, grey and beige predominating and underlining the atmosphere of calm, wintry silence. The simplified shapes of a cottage with wooden gables and firm, black contours give the scene a decorative look, close to the artist’s style as an illustrator. Even though the painting was created in the middle of World War II, the time casts no shadow. On the contrary, it presents an idyllic, timeless vision of rural life, which serves as an escape from reality and a source of consolation. The work summarises Lada’s ability to transform everyday reality into visual poetry, combining personal memories with a universal image of the Czech home. Winter is thus one of his best paintings to feature Hrusice motifs and remains a symbol of the traditional rural idyll to this day. Assessed in consultation with Prof. J. Zemina and PhDr. R. Michalová, PhD. The expert opinion of PhDr. P. Pečinková, CSc. is attached.