Výstava Sdružení západočeských výtvarných umělců a Sdružení jihočeských výtvarníků | Databáze uměleckých výstav v českých zemích 1820

Commentary

The joint exhibition of the Sdružení západočeských výtvarných umělců (Association of West Bohemian Artists, SZVU) in Pilsen and the Sdružení jihočeských výtvarníků (Association of South Bohemian Artists, SJV) in České Budějovice, which took place in January 1932 in the Municipal House in Prague, was the first group show of art associations from outside the capital. The regional art associations that had sprung throughout Czechoslovakia since the beginning of the 20th century had been striving for recognition by Prague institutions for several years, so this exhibition represented a significant shift in their positions.

By the winter of 1932, both associations had organized several member and thematic exhibitions in the regions, where they had been trying since the mid-1920s to present the work of their members as well as artists from other parts of the country. The two associations had been in contact since their inception, and the Prague exhibition was not the first project on which they had collaborated.

In the fall of 1931, the Prague City Council decided to lend the halls of the Municipal House to South and West Bohemian artists, thus symbolically opening the door to non-Prague art associations, which until then had little access to Prague’s exhibition venues, almost exclusively “ruled” by the Prague art organizations. [Pacovský 1932] Prague rarely saw exhibitions of regional art. When they finally came to Prague, it was undoubtedly thanks to Svaz výtvarnických uměleckých spolků ČSR (Union of Art Associations of the Czechoslovak Republic), which was founded in 1928 to support regional art associations and give them the opportunity to exhibit in the Municipal House. [Chválová-Pacovská]

At the end of 1931, members of both associations were invited to submit their works, from which the representatives of the SZVU and the SJV made the final selection. The exhibition, which opened on January 6, 1932, featured 26 West Bohemian artists and 14 South Bohemian artists, showcasing a total of three hundred works, including paintings, drawings, and prints, as well as sculptures and architectural designs, presented through plans and photographs. With this wide selection, the South and West Bohemian artists wanted to show “that there is artistic work outside Prague,” as Bohumil Polan put it in his introduction to the catalogue. [Polan 1932] The attempt to draw more attention to the artistic events on the periphery was the key aspect of the exhibition, and many critics commented on it. Their reactions ranged from the simple statement that “ the exhibition was intended to show that rural artists, who have no contact with the center, are also doing interesting work” [Mokrý 1932] to militant slogans such as “the South and West Bohemians are imbued with a firm will to shake off all the shackles that the falsely modern and superficial Prague imposes on everyone who has passed through its schools and studios.” [št. 1932]

In his review for České slovo, V. V. Štech pointed out the absurd isolationism of Prague in its relationship to the regions. He emphasized regionalism and the uniqueness of South and West Bohemian artistic expression, which is independent of artistic events in Prague without being provincial since it does not simply imitate Prague models. It is only thanks to regionalism, says Štech, that the Czechoslovak artistic tradition will become “a healthy body.” [Štech 1932] The importance of regionalism for the Center was also emphasized in the opening speeches, especially the speech by Jindřich Kohn, a lawyer from Pilsen, who was one of the guests of honor at the opening ceremony, along with Prague Mayor Karel Baxa, Minister Karel Viškovský, and MP Rudolf Beran.

On the other hand, the reviewer of Lidové listy, Antonín Liška, firmly rejected the praise of regionalism and wrote that “SJV members could easily work in Prague.” [Liška 1932] According to Liška, no one explained what exactly characterized the art in West and South Bohemia, and he also believed that it was more important to connect the “rural” artistic life with activities in the centre. His considerations captured the wavering of many interwar regional artists between trying to express the unique identity of their region and the desire to adopt the style of the centre. Liška’s review was also one of the few critical ones; in his opinion, the South Bohemians exhibition “appeared unexpectedly shabby and grey.” Jaromír Pečírka criticized the artworks’ complete detachment from the progressive art emerging in Prague, while other reviewers evaluated the two separate presentations of the two associations positively, accepting that these were rather conservative works with mainly rural themes. The critics often highlighted the paintings of Jan Kojan, a painter originally from South Bohemia, who lived in Prague, the drawings and prints of the artist couple Richard and Divice Lander, and the work of the West Bohemian painters Alois Bílek and Svatopluk Máchal.

The exhibition was covered by local periodicals as well as national newspapers and magazines such as České slovo, Národní politika, and Právo lidu, attesting to its importance. Despite the massive media coverage, however, the exhibition, which lasted only three weeks, was not very well attended. The SZVU’s accounting records show that the entire event ended in a deficit, or rather, that the accounts were adjusted to break even. [Pilsen City Archives] Although the Prague exhibition of the SZVU and the SJV was an economic failure, it was a great moral success. The exhibition and the two associations gained publicity not only through newspaper reports but also through radio broadcasts. At least three paintings were bought by the Ministry of Education and National Enlightenment. Finally, it was a breakthrough in the presentation of “rural” art associations in Prague. As early as September 1932, the Municipal House hosted an exhibition of Brno’s Klub výtvarných umělců Aleš (Aleš Art Club), and three years later the SJV returned to its halls, this time with its own members' exhibition.

Tereza Štěpánová

Works Cited

Archiv města Plzně [Pilsen City Archive]: Archiv města Plzně, fonds Sdružení západočeských výtvarných umělců [Association of West Bohemian Artists], no. 22, Korespondence SZVU 1932 [Correspondence SZVU 1932], Výstava SJV a SZVU v Praze od 6. – 28. ledna 1932 [Exhibition of SJV and SZVU in Prague from January 6 – 28, 1932], vyúčtování z 1. března 1932 a 14. dubna 1932 [accounting records from March 1 and April 14, 1932]

Chválová-Pacovská: Jana Chválová-Pacovská, Monografická kostra života a díla Emila Pacovského, strojopis., p. 44, quted from: Šárka Hribová, Výtvarník Emil Pacovský jako organizátor a vydavatel, doctoral thesis PedF UK, Praha 2010, p. 30.

Liška 1932: Dr. A. Liška, Co nutno připomenouti k výstavě Jihočechů, Lidové listy XI, 1932, no. 19, 24. 1., supplement, p. 1

Mokrý 1932: F. V. Mokrý, Západočeští a jihočeští výtvarníci v Praze, Venkov XXVII, 1932, no. 15, 17. 1., p. 7

Pacovský 1932: Emil Pacovský, Praha otevírá brány, Veraikon XVIII, 1932, no. 1, pp. 1–14

Polan 1932: Bohumil Polan, Slovo úvodem, in: Sdružení západočeských výtvarných umělců v Plzni a Sdružení jihočeských výtvarníků v Č. Budějovicích (exh. cat.), Praha 1932, p. 3.

št. 1932: št, Výstava jihočeských a západočeských výtvarníků v Praze, Venkov XXVII, 1932, no. 9, 10. 1., p. 2

Štech 1932: V. V. Š. [Václav Vilém Štech], Hlásí se otázka regionalismu, České slovo XXIV, 1932, no. 14, 16. 1., p. 7

Archival Sources

Archiv města Plzně [Pilsen City Archive], fonds Sdružení západočeských výtvarných umělců [Association of West Bohemian Artists], no. 22, Korespondence SZVU 1932 [Correspondence SZVU 1932], file 1546; inv. no. 43, Výstavy, přihlášky, seznamy prací 1921–1941 [Exhibitions, applications, lists of artworks], file 1555; inv. no. 44, Výstřižky o SZVU [Newspaper clippings concerning the SZVU], file 1555; inv. no. 63, Invitations to exhibitions, file 4949

SOA Třeboň, fonds SJV, inv. no. 31, Výstavy [Exhibitions], sign. II C 1 a, file 9; inv. no. 32, Výstavní katalogy [Exhibition catalogues], sign. II C 1 b, file 13