Diana

This work by Jan Preisler, a direct initiator of post-1900 Czech modern art, can be regarded as a unique opportunity and a true feast for collectors: it was last displayed to the public over sixty years ago and, since then, we have known only a black-and-white reproduction of the painting. Here, we can admire the half-length figure of a bare-chested huntress, preparing to draw her bow under the close observation of a white deer that has just emerged from the thicket. Both recognise the fateful nature of the moment, as captured in their mutual eye contact.

The listed work was completed at the beginning of the last decade of the artist’s life and speaks to his continuous searching and creative transformation. Preisler first experimented with the ideal layout for Diana in various sketches; influenced by the younger generation, especially Bohumil Kubišta, he turned his attention to composition, which he began to approach with an almost scientific interest – in addition to painting supplies, a long T-square was added to his equipment. This period of replacing inflamed passions with a ruler gave rise to Leda with the Swan as well as Diana, the sophisticated composition of which clearly demonstrates this single-minded process. Preisler, whose work had previously been characterised by a certain static quality, also achieved a more complex corporeal expression and dynamism here. This allowed him to harmoniously balance the dynamics of Diana’s torso and hand, which stretches the bowstring in a counter-movement. The artist’s chosen colour palette is also worthy of attention. The triad of white, green and blue constitutes a transposition of folk art, as some art critics observed not long after the painting was completed: “the graceful silhouette of the running deer apparently originated from a painting on a folk jug.” On a single surface, we thus encounter an effort to come to terms not only with the up-to-date views of the youngest generation concentrated around the Osma group, but also with the reception of certain archetypes associated with folk art.

The listed work is associated with a rich history of publication and exhibition. Publications include: Jan Štenc: Umění: sborník pro českou výtvarnou práci, Prague: 1934–1935, 8 (1–10), p. 15; A. Matějček: Jan Preisler, Prague: 1950, fig. no. 167; L. Karlíková, M. Hovorková, ed.: Jan Preisler 1872–1918, Exhibition Catalogue from the National Gallery in Prague, Prague: 1964, fig. no. 117, cat. no. 117; and P. Wittlich et al.: Jan Preisler, 1872–1918, Prague: 2003, fig. p. 234. Exhibitions include: Jan Preisler, the 50th Exhibition of the Mánes Association of Fine Artists, Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague, April–May 1919, cat. no. 17; Jan Preisler: Vzpomínková výstava, Mánes Association of Fine Artists, Municipal House, Prague, 1 December 1928 – 1 January 1929, cat. no. 70, see the exhibition stamp on the verso; National Gallery in Prague, 1964, see the publication above and the exhibition stamp on the verso. Until now, the work has remained in the collector’s family and was lent for the above-mentioned 1964 exhibition at the National Gallery in Prague. It is presented in a period frame by Jindřich Eck. Assessed in consultation with Prof. J. Zemina and Prof. R. Prahl, CSc. The expert opinion of PhDr. K. Srp is attached: “[...] Diana by Jan Preisler, which remained hidden in a private collection for decades as the preparatory sketches for it were exhibited and published, can be considered a great discovery. Now we have the chance to experience all the nuance that Preisler embedded in the painting, which we have previously seen only as a black and white reproduction. And this demonstrates that Preisler was rightly designated the most significant colourist of his generation, even the direct founder of this trajectory in modern Czech painting. What is even more important is the movement that Preisler embedded in the colour. To develop his colouristic expression, he chose a mythological scene that allowed him to move from a relief-like contour approach to a spatial depth. This tension makes this painting one of the most charming works of Czech painting from the early twentieth century. [...].”