Winter

This work is an exceptional example of Lada’s unmistakable poetic style, presented in the background of a typical Czech village, emphasising folk poetic art. It comes from his peak period and the most prolific year of his work. Lada used painting to escape the reality of dramatic wartime, which allowed him to create his own harmonious, sometimes humorous world, far from a war-torn Europe. He was self-taught in drawing, gradually developing a distinctive style with strong black outlines and a simplified perspective caused by his visual impairment and round morphology of individual elements. The illustrations, paintings, and drawings he created during his lifetime admire children and adults until the present.

The presented romantic scene contains all the characteristic details of his work. It is evident that the painter managed not to look back at artistic conventions and chose his path. The spirituality and magic of the snowy scenery are portrayed with festive calmness and tenderness. His native village, Hrusice, with the iconic church of St. Wenceslas, became an unlimited source of inspiration for Lada. He repeatedly captured its panorama in his works and used it as the scene of many stories. The atmosphere of the painting with a soft colour range is exceptional, evoking winter in its most beautiful form. Assessed during consultations by prof. J. Zemina and PhDr. R. Michalová, Ph.D. The expertise of PhDr. P. Pečinková, CSc, is attached.