Databáze uměleckých výstav v českých zemích 1820 – 1950

In October 1931, Prague's Mánes gallery hosted an exhibition of Slovak art, presented as the first independent showcase of Slovak artists in Prague since the founding of Czechoslovakia in 1918. The Jednota výtvarných umelcov Slovenska (Union of Slovak Artists) had already exhibited in Prague in 1922, but critics had harshly attacked this show for lacking "Slovakness": despite its original ambition for nationwide representation, the Union consisted primarily of German and Hungarian artists living in Slovakia. Therefore, the 1931 exhibition was perceived as the first truly Slovak exhibition in Prague, presenting Slovak art defined along national lines.

The Association of Slovak Artists organized the exhibition to introduce Slovak visual art to Czech audiences while strengthening Czecho-Slovak cultural cooperation. Accompanying cultural events – an exhibition of Slovak books and an evening of Slovak music – emphasized its national character. The exhibition operated under the patronage of Education Minister Ivan Dérer and Interior Minister Juraj Slávik. In his opening speech, Dérer directly addressed the controversies that had surrounded its preparation. [fk. 1931, p. 3]

The exhibition was prepared amid internal conflicts within Slovak artistic circles, with tensions between the two main art associations – the Association of Slovak Artists (Spolok slovenských umelcov) and the Artistic Forum of Slovakia (Umelecká beseda slovenská) – intensifying as the preparations progressed. The Association of Slovak Artists initially declared that participation was open to all Slovak artists regardless of organizational affiliation. Ultimately, however, they invited only selected members of the Artistic Forum of Slovakia, whom they chose based exclusively on national criteria. This selective approach sparked a fundamental dispute with the Artistic Forum of Slovakia, which responded by asking its members to boycott the exhibition [Jež 1931, p. 4]. As a result, several key figures of Slovak art world did not participate – the press highlighted the absence of Ľudovít Fulla, Mikuláš Galanda, Miloš Alexander Bazovský, and Zoltán Palugyay. While critics reproached the exhibition organizers for selecting participants based solely on national criteria, they themselves focused exclusively on the absence of artists considered representatives of Slovak art. Other uninvited artists – particularly those belonging to minorities (German, Hungarian, Jewish) and Czech artists working in Slovakia – received no attention.

Lucia Kvočáková

Works Cited

fk. 1931: fk., Slovenští umělci vystavují v Praze, Lidové noviny XXXIX, 1931, no. 492, 2.10., p. 3.

Krčméry 1931: Štefan Krčnéry, Úvod, Výstava slovenského umenia v Prahe (exh. cat., SVU Mánes), Praha 1931

Veselý 1931: Ad. Veselý, Bilancia výstavy Spolku slovenských umelcov v Prahe, Elán II, November 1931, no. 3, p. 9

Jež 1931: Š. J. [Štěpán Jež], Výstavy, Legie VI, 1931, no. 42, p. 4

Anonymous author, Úspech slovenskej výstavy v Prahe, Slovenský deník XIV, 1931, no. 258, 10. 11., p. 4

Anonymous author, Výstava slovenského umění, Lidové noviny XXXIX, 1931, no. 263, 27. 5., p. 7

Anonymous author, Výstava slovenského umenia a koncert v Prahe, Slovenský deník XIV, 1931, no. 207, 10. 9., p. 4

Anonymous author, Výstava slovenského umenia a koncert v Prahe, Slovák XIII, 1931, no. 201, 6. 9., p. 3

Anonymous author, Výstava slovenského umenia v Prahe, Slovenská krajina, 1931, no. 230, 8. 10., pp. 1-2

Anonymous author, Výstava slovenského umenia v Prahe, Slovenský deník XIV, 1931, no. 228, 4. 10., p. 5

Anonymous author, Výstava slovenského umenia v Prahe, Slovenský deník XIV, 1931, no. 226, 2. 10., p. 3

Anonymous author, Výstava Slovenského umenia v Prahe, Slovenský deník XIV, 1931, no. 217, 22. 9., p. 4

Anonymous author, Výstava slovenského výtvarného umenia a slovenskej knihy v Prahe, Elán II, 1931, no. 1, p. 11

A.V., Slováci v Prahe, Čechoslovák XI, 1931, no. 10, p. 325        

J. Čapek o výstave slovenského umenia v Prahe, Slovenský deník XIV, 1931, no. 234, 11. 10., p. 5

Kahanček, Slovenski umelci vystavujú prvý raz v Prahe, Slovenský deník XIV, 1931, no. 226, 2. 10., p. 3

Kr., Slovenští malíři v Praze, Polední list V, 1931, no. 274, 2. 10., p. 4

N., Zahájení výstavy Spolku slovenských umělcov, Národní osvobození VIII, 1931, no. 273, 6. 10., p. 3

nlž., Slávnostné otvorenie výstavy slovenského výtvarného umenia v Prahe, Slovenská krajina, 1931, no. 228, p. 1