Databáze uměleckých výstav v českých zemích 1820 – 1950

On November 8, 1934, the exhibition of paintings by Martin Benka was opened as the first show of the Elán Exhibition Hall at 53 Spálená Street in Prague. This new space also housed the Slovak Bookshop and belonged to the Leopold Mazáč Publishing House, which had been publishing Slovak literature, especially by young Slovak authors, since 1925. 

From the beginning of his publishing career, Leopold Mazáč collaborated with Ján Smrek (born Ján Čietek), a Slovak poet and journalist with considerable organizational talent and an extensive network of contacts in the Czech and Slovak cultural scenes. In 1930, after he moved to Prague, Smrek also began publishing the art magazine Elán, with Mazáč’s support. The magazine “survived” in Mazáč's publishing house until August 1939 and gained recognition as the most important Slovak cultural magazine during the Czechoslovak First Republic.

As the publishing house prospered, Mazáč decided to open a showroom and establish his own bookshop. In 1933, he rented the ground floor and three floors of a building in the center of Prague at 53 Spálená Street and commissioned the architect Josef Hesoun to redesign the space. The premises of the publishing house included not only the Slovak Bookshop but also the editorial office of Elán magazine and a lecture hall connected to the gallery of the Elán Exhibition Hall.

The choice of the first exhibiting artist, Martin Benka, was hardly accidental. He was a good friend of Ján Smrek, who oversaw the whole enterprise, but also a long-time collaborator of the publishing house and a Slovak painter living in Prague, whom the critics considered the founder of Slovak modernist painting [Kapráliková 2021, p. 171]. A. V. Hrska wrote the following about Benka’s programmatically Slovak landscapes: “These paintings are magical in colour. [...] the tones through which the soul of the land and the people speaks to us. It is like Slovak folk art but refined and seen again by the painter in nature.” [Hrska 1934, p. 7]

The opening was attended by a number of state officials, writers, and artists, including Minister Milan Hodža and Josef Rotnágl, Mayor of the City of Prague and Chairman of Československá jednota (Czechoslovak Union). In his speech, Hodža emphasized the importance of Slovak “cultural nationalism,” which in his view brought positive values and allowed Slovakia to integrate Czech rationalism with Slavic Eastern psychism not only in art but also geographically and politically [Hodža 1934, p. 1]. Rotnágl, on the other hand, stressed the need for a Slovak exhibition pavilion in Prague and Czechoslovak cooperation [Smrek 1934, p. 4]. 

The Elán Exhibition Hall became the showcase of Slovak art in Prague. The exhibitions usually lasted one month and were free of charge. In the off-season (September-May) Mazáč rented the exhibition hall to Czech artists. The program of the lecture hall followed the program of the gallery. The programming depended on the current financial situation of the publishing house and Smrek’s contacts. The exhibiting artists were mostly Slovaks trained or settled in Prague, or in some way connected with Smrek or the publishing house. These were mainly artists who designed book covers for Mazáč’s publishing house (Edícia mladých slovenských autorov [Young Slovak Authors Series - EMSA), such as Mikuláš Galanda, Miloš A. Bazovský, Cyprián Majerník, Štefan Bednár, Vincent Hložník, and František Reichentál. Cyprián Majerník’s exhibition at the Elán Exhibition Hall in 1935 is generally regarded as a milestone in the emergence of the so-called Generation of 1909 - artists who studied in Prague and remained closely connected with the Prague artistic milieu. Other artists of this generation – the core of the so-called Czech branch of the 1909 Generation – also made their debut in the Elán: Štefan Bednár (October 16 - November 15, 1936), Ján Mudroch (September 22 - October 10, 1937), Ján Želibský (April 15 - May 7, 1937), and Bedřich Hoffstädter (January 25 - February 15, 1939). The gallery also represented Czech authors with ties to Slovakia, such as Jaroslav Jareš, or those who focused on Slovakia in their work, such as Marie Vořechová-Vejvodová. 

Alexander Vladimír Hrska, a Czech painter and printmaker, wrote exhibition reviews for Elán; in 1934, he became the main book cover designer for the EMSA series, replacing Martin Benka, who had held the position since 1927.

The Elán Exhibition Hall provided a space for the presentation of Slovak art in the capital of the Czechoslovak Republic At the time of its opening, Smrek had already created a functional infrastructure for the promotion and presentation of Slovak art around the Mazáč publishing house. Artists could earn money by designing book covers, which were immediately advertised in the magazine Elán. At the same time, the gallery provided a platform for a lively exchange of ideas among artists, whether associated with the publishing house or not. Every exhibition of a Slovak artist was reviewed in Elán. The Slovak art world followed these activities closely, but they went largely unnoticed in Czech modern art circles – they seemed to be of more interest to representatives of the state and its institutions, and to Czech figures involved in the Slovak cultural scene, some of whom sought to proclaim Czechoslovak reciprocity, while others pointed to the legitimacy of Slovak art and culture within the Czechoslovak Republic.

Lucia Kvočáková

Works Cited

Hodža 1934: Milan Hodža, Bojujte ďalej..., Elán V, 1934, no. 3, listopad (november), p. 1

Hrska 1934: Alexander Vladimír Hrska, Maliar o maliarovi (O výstave M. Benku v sieni Elánu), Elán V, 1934, no. 3, listopad (november), p. 7

Kapráliková 2011: Monika Kapráliková, Takmer zabudnutý nakladateľ Leopold Mazáč, Slovenská literatúraLVIII, 2011, no. 2, pp. 143–163

Kapráliková 2021: Monika Kapráliková, Za hranice provincie. Ján Smrek a jeho E/elán, Bratislava 2021

Smrek 1934: Ján Smrek, Aká bola naša pražská slávnosť, Elán V, 1934. no. 3, listopad (november), pp. 4–5

Further Reading

Lucia Kvočáková, „Slovenský kultúrny konzulát v Prahe“: vydavateľstvo Leopolda Mazáča a jeho úloha pri prezentácii slovenského umenia v Prahe v tridsiatych rokoch 20. storočia, in: Anežka Bartlová – Hana Buddeus (eds.), Infrastruktury (dějin) umění. Sborník ze VII. sjezdu historiků a historiček umění v Ústí nad Labem, Praha 2022, pp. 198–212 

Ján Smrek, Slovenský „Kulturní konzulát“ v Praze, článok v preklade a úprave Emila Charousa, 15 p., Fond Ján Čietek–Smrek 181 F 38, Slovenská, národná knižnica – Literárny archív

Ján Smrek, Poézia moja láska II, Bratislava 1989

Exhibitions in the Elán Exhibition Hall

1. Martin Benka – November 1934
2. Mikuláš Galanda – January 1935
3. Ľudo Križan – February 1935
4. Cyprián Majerník – March 1935
5. Anna Roškotová – April 15 – May 15, 1935 
6. official summer break – the space was rented out to Czech artists: Václav Pavlík and Ján Kodet, May 15, 1935 - end of May? 1935, Jaroslav Melka - July 4, 1935 - August 13, 1935 
7. Exhibition of wartime seamanship – September 1935
8. Jaroslav Jareš – October 23, 1935 – November 10, 1935
9. Miloš. A. Bazovský – November 12, 1935 – December 12, 1935
10. Marie Vořechova Vejvodová – January 1936
11. Ferdiš Duša – March 5, 1936 – end of March 1936?
12. Július Bártfay – April 7, 1936 – end of April 1936?
13. Hana Nosková – May 2, 1936 – May 16, 1936
14.  Exhibition of literary works by Vladimir Nazor and sculptor Alojz Gangl – May 28, 1936 – June 1936?
15.  Kupari, Its See and the Surrounding of Dubrovnik (Vincenc Beneš, Václav Špála, Emil Schovánek, Cína Jelínek, Čeněk Choděra, Jaro Procházka, Fr. Holan, Marie Neubertová, Lucie Klímová, Ela Mikanová-Urbanová and others) – June 1936
16. Ela Mikanová-Urbanová – beginning of September 1936
17. Štefan Bednár – October 16, 1936 – November 15, 1936
18. Exhibition of Artworks by Czech Musicians – January 1937
19. František Záleský – January 23 – February 7, 1937
20. Jaroslav Šváb – February 8 – 22, 1937
21. Nella Arsteinova – February 23 – March 8, 1937
22. Jozef Kollár – March 9 – 22, 1937
23. Ante Trstenjak – beginning of April 1937 
24. Ján Želibský – April 15, 1937 – May 7, 1937
25. František Reichentál – May 9, 1937 – end of May 1937?
26.  Pavel Hložek – August 1937
27. Karel Pospíšil – September 1937
28. Ján Mudroch – September 22, 1937 – October 10, 1937
29. Ján Ladvenica – October 1937
30. Jaroslav Votruba – February 2, 1938 – February 21, 1938
31. Otakar Sedloň – březen 1938
32. Ante Trstenjak – April 23 – May 12, 1938
33. Martin Nowak – May 15, 1938 – May 29, 1938
34. Jubilee Exhibition of Legionnaire Monuments and Literature in Prague - July 1938?
35. Bedřich Hoffstädter – January 25, 1939 – February 15, 1939
36.  B. Mathauserová – February 17, 1939 – ?
37. Žofie Kopecká – May 1939

Adolf Veselý, Ľuda Križan ukazuje se ve výstavní síni Elánu…, Zvon XXXV, 1935, no. 25, p. 351

Adolf Veselý, Martin Benka, Zvon XXXV, 1935, no. 10, p. 140

Adolf Veselý, Nové údobí výstavní…, Zvon XXXVII, 1937, no. 1, pp. 15–16

Adolf Veselý, Výtvarné umění, Zvon XXXVI, 1936, no. 27, p. 379

Alžběta Birnbaumová, Malířku Marii Vořechovou..., Salon XV, 1936, únor, no. 2, p. 15

Emil Pacovský, Výstava slovenských obrazů Jaroslava Jareše, Veraikon XXI, 1935, no. 5–6, pp. 74–75

Frico Hoffstädter: Utečenci, Pražský illustrovaný zpravodaj, 1939, no. 8, p. 21

-fvm - [František Viktor Mokrý], Výstavy v Praze, Venkov XXXII, 1937, no. 238, 9.10., p. 6 

jhch., Výstava Nazorova díla v Praze, Československo–jihoslovanská revue VI, 1936, no. 3–4, pp. 61–62

Jihoslovanský básnik Vladimir Nazor…, Polední list IX, 1936, no. 145, 24. 5., p. 2

Karel Pospíšil, Československo-jihoslovanská revue VII, 1937, no. 5, p. 135

Kr., Dva mladí výtvarníci, Polední list IX, 1935, no. 139, 19. 5., p. 4

Kr., Malířský debut, Polední list XIII, 1939, no. 129, 9. 5., p. 2

Marie Vořechové Vejvodové keramika, kresby a akvarely ve výstavní síní Elánu, Veraikon XXII, 1936, no. 1, p. 16

Mikuláš Galanda, Hollar XI, 1935, no. 1, p. 40

N., V síni Elánu, Národní osvobození XIII, 1936, no. 147, 24. 6., p. 6

N., Ve výstavní síni Elánu…, Národní osvobození XII, 1935, no. 45, 22. 2., p. 5

Předseda vlády Jan Malypetr…, Venkov XXX, 1935, no. 127, 31.5., p. 3

rk, Otvorenie Slovenského kníhkupectva v Prahe, Slovenský deník XVII, 1934, no. 255, 9. 11., p. 1

Ve výstavní síni Elánu, Ženská rada XII, 1936, no. 7, p. 167

Vo výstavnej sieni Elánu, Elán VII, február 1937, no. 6, p. 7

Výstava obrazů Ante Trstenjaka, Lužickosrbský věstník IXX, 1938, červen, no. 5–6, pp. 33–34

Žofie Kopecká v síni Elánu, Venkov XXXIV, 1939, no. 114, 17.5., p. 7