Comrades

The painting Comrades represents Josef Čapek’s work from the early 1920s. It depicts anonymous urban figures schematically, emphasising vertical lines, which enhances the feeling of alienation and anonymity in the urban environment. The rendering thus reflects Čapek’s growing interest in social issues and the life of ordinary people in modern society. The colour range is limited, with dominant brown and grey shades, which enhance the atmosphere of the work. This work evidences Čapek’s departure from strict purism towards a more expressive style reflecting his humanistic ideals. Comrades belongs to a series in which Čapek explored the theme of “guys” or “men” (Three Guys, 1926, private collection; Three Men in the Yard, 1926, National Gallery Prague, inv. No. O 3774; Man with a Bag, 1926, National Gallery Prague, inv. No. O 3861 etc.), the archetypal representatives of the urban proletariat, i.e. a theme reflecting his belief in the importance of depicting everyday life and his efforts to democratise art. In the context of Čapek’s work, this painting represents a transition to his later socially engaged works without limiting himself to a mere formal experiment. It is registered in Jaroslav Slavík’s work database (reg. No. 583, entitled Three Men III). Its provenance can be traced to the original owner, JUDr. J. Löwenbach, a lawyer, music critic, poet and translator. He belonged to the circle of Čapek’s friends and participated in, among other things, translations for the anthology Jüngste tschechische Lyrik (Aktion, Berlin 1916), in which Čapek’s work was represented. In 1924, under the pseudonym J. L. Budín, he published in Lidové noviny verses dedicated to Josef Čapek, inspired by the presented oil painting (Lidové noviny 32, No. 556, 6 November 1924, p. 1). Furthermore, the painting is listed in the inventory of Čapek’s artwork (P. Pečinková: I worked a lot, part three: Painting, Humpolec 2023, p. 553) and comes from a high-quality and unique post-revolution collection. Assessed during consultations by prof. J. Zemina and PhDr. R. Michalová, Ph.D. The expertise of PhDr. P. Pečinková, CSc., is attached.