Databáze uměleckých výstav v českých zemích 1820 – 1950

Václav Špála’s exhibition commemorated is fortieth birthday. It was organized by the Mánes Association of Fine Artists, which Špála had joined in 1909 and of which he remained a member until the end of his life, aside from a brief pause between 1911 and 1912, when he was active in the Group of Fine Artists. Špála was highly respected in Mánes both personally and for his art. In the 1920s, this respect was visible in Mánes members' exhibitions: in addition to Filla, Špála was the best represented painter at these exhibitions. In 1936, he was elected Mánes's chairman.

The works for the exhibition were chosen so that they represented Špála's oeuvre in a complex manner, covering his independent creative activity from the period after he left the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague through his Expressionist and Cubist phases, up to his landscapes, still-lifes and figural works of the 1920s. In addition to sixty paintings, Špála exhibited roughly the same number of watercolours and drawings in ink and other materials. Most of the works came from the artist's property and were for sale. The rest were borrowed from private collectors. The most expensive item at the exhibition, the 1919 painting Bathers, now is in the collection of the West Bohemian Gallery in Pilsen. The Modern Gallery purchased the oil painting From Korčula (1923) and four drawings.

The catalogue introduction was written by the critic and journalist Josef Kodíček. His text briefly pointed out Špála's sources of inspiration and characterized his oeuvre. Kodíček placed great emphasis on the works that were not dependent on foreign sources but presented original value. He therefore particularly appreciated Špála’s “red-blue period” which, according to Kodíček, began around 1913, when Špála abandoned his previous period, characterized by stylization and allegorization. For Kodíček, Špála became one of “the most Czech phenomena of Czech art” [Kodíček 1925, n.p.]. The reviews in the press also looked at Špála as related to his national identity. The second main theme in these reviews was Špála's work with colour, the main structural and expressive element in his paintings.

The exhibition was received positively, an important confirmation for Špála that his creative efforts were meaningful. In a sense, the exhibition can be seen as a canonization of  Špála's work in the history of Czech modern art.

Tomáš Winter

Works Cited

Kodíček 1925: Josef Kodíček, Václav Špála, in: LXXXVIII. výstava Spolku výtvarných umělců Mánes. Souborná výstava Václava Špály. (Oleje, akvarely, kresby), (exh. cat.), SVU Mánes v Praze 1925, n.p.

Further Reading

Vojtěch Lahoda, Kubismus 1910–1925 ve sbírkách Západočeské galerie v Plzni, in: Petr Jindra (ed.), Kubismus 1910–1925: kubismus ve sbírkách Západočeské galerie v Plzni, Plzeň 2009, p. 41

Helena Musilová, Umění jako projev života, in: eadem (ed.), Václav Špála: Mezi avantgardou a živobytím, Praha 2005, p. 42

Archival Sources

Prague City Archives, Fonds Spolek výtvarných umělců Mánes, Výstavní činnost, 4082, Souborná výstava Václava Špály, 1925 (February)

Anonymous author, Souborná výstava prací Václava Špály, Československá republika CCXLVI, 1925, no. 30. 31. 1., p. 7

Anonymous author, Souborná výstava prací Václava Špály, Národní osvobození II, 1925, no. 31, 31. 1., p. 6

Anonymous author, Výstava obrazů akad. malíře Václava Špály, Národní osvobození II, 1925, no. 31, 31. 1., p. 8

Anonymous author, Souborná výstava prací Václava Špály, Národní politika XLIII, 1925, no. 31, 31. 1., p. 8

Anonymous author, Die Vernissage der Ausstellung Václav Špála, Prager Presse V, 1925, no. 31, 31. 1., p. 5

Anonymous author, Souborná výstava prací Václava Špály, Právo lidu XXXIV, 1925, no. 27, 31. 1., p. 8

Anonymous author, Souborná výstava prací Václava Špály, Tribuna VII, 1925, no. 27, 31. 1., p. 5

Anonymous author, Soubor prací Václava Špály, Národní listy LXV, 1925, no. 32, 1. 2., supplement, p. 9

Anonymous author, Výstava Václava Špály, Národní politika XLIII, 1925, no. 32, 1. 2., p. 9

Anonymous author, Výstava Václava Špály, Právo lidu XXXIV, 1925, no. 28, 1. 2., p. 12

Anonymous author, Výstava Václava Špály, Tribuna VII, 1925, no. 28, 1. 2., p. 6

Anonymous author, Souborná výstava Václava Špály, České slovo XVII, 1925, no. 30, 5. 2., p. 5

Anonymous author, Souborná výstava obrazů Václava Špály, Národní osvobození II, 1925, no. 35, 5. 2., p. 6

Anonymous author, Die Ausstellung Špála, Prager Presse V, 1925, no. 36, 6. 2., p. 5

Anonymous author, Síň Mánesa, Venkov XX, 1925, 7. 2., no. 32, p. 5

Anonymous author, Výstava Václava Špály, Tribuna VII, 1925, no. 33, 8. 2., p. 7

Anonymous author, Výstava Václava Špály v síni Mánesa, Národní listy LXV, 1925, no. 38, 8. 2., supplement, p. 9

Anonymous author, Výstava Václava Špály, Národní politika XLIII, 1925, no. 38., 8. 2., p. 9

Anonymous author, Souborná výstava Václava Špály, Tribuna VII, 1925, no. 45, 22. 2., p. 7

Anonymous author, Souborná výstava Václava Špály, České slovo XVII, 1925, no. 48, 26. 2., p. 6

Anonymous author, Zprávy za měsíc leden a únor, Dílo XVIII, 1924–1925, no. 4, p. 28

Anonymous author, Výstava Václava Špály v „Manesu“ ve Vodičkově ulici, Národní osvobození II, 1925, no. 62, 4. 3., p. 8

Anonymous author, Souborná výstava Václava Špály, Tribuna VII, 1925, no. 53, 4. 3., p. 5

Anonymous author, Souborná výstava Václava Špály, Československá republika CCXLVI, 1925, no. 63, 6. 3., p. 9

Anonymous author, Souborná výstava Václava Špály, Národní listy LXV, 1925, no. 64, 6. 3., supplement, p. 9

Anonymous author, Souborná výstava Václava Špály, Právo lidu XXXIV, 1925, no. 55, 6. 3., p. 10

Anonymous author, Souborná výstava Václava Špály, Venkov XX, 1925, no. 56, 7. 3., p. 9

Anonymous author, Oficiosní list a Václav Špála, Tribuna VII, 1925, no. 61, 13. 3., p. 3