The last major exhibition of Asian, specifically Chinese, art in the prewar period took place in 1937. Sadly, it presented artworks from the estate of Vojtěch Chytil, an active promoter of Asian art in Czechoslovakia and Europe, who died suddenly in 1936. That same year also saw the death of Bedřich Feuerstein, an architect, and co-organizer of the exhibition, who loosely collaborated on the 1936 Exhibition of Japanese Paintings Classical and Modern from the collection of Jirohachi Satsuma. Intended as a sequel to the 1936 show, the 1937 Exhibition of Old and Modern Chinese Art concluded the series of comprehensive shows of art from the estates of Czech collectors and Asian scholars in the interwar period.
One of these collectors, the painter Ludvík Kuba (1863-1956), whose focus was primarily on Chinese art, gave the opening speech at the exhibition. In the text printed at the beginning of the exhibition catalogue, Kuba compared Chinese and European art and pointed out the different positions painting and sculpture held within the Chinese artistic canon. The exhibition represented both media, showcasing 193 paintings and sculptures. Kuba’s text also outlined the development of Chinese art and paid particular attention to Buddhist art. In conclusion, Kuba mentioned the prominent Chinese painter Qi Baishi, who was a friend of Chytil's and whom Chytil had promoted in his exhibitions in Europe. As in the case of Chytil’s previous shows, the artworks were for sale.
Although the exhibition received a positive response, it presented a somewhat sad end to Vojtěch Chytil’s activities and his promotion of Asian art in Czechoslovakia and Europe. In addition to contemporary Chinese art and its leading representative, Qi Baishi, critics appreciated the impressiveness of Buddhist art and the reasonable prices for which visitors could buy artworks from the exhibition.
Helena Čapková
Works Cited
Helena Čapková, Vojnina – záhada několika dopisů. Korespondence malíře Vojtěcha Chytila s architektem Bedřichem Feuersteinem, Umění/Art LVIII, 2010, pp. 63–72
Helena Čapková, Marginální fenomén, nebo oběť orientalistického klišé? K vzájemným stykům japonských a evropských meziválečných avantgard / Relations between the Japanese and the European Avant-garde in the Interwar Era: A Subject of Marginal Interest or a Victim of Orientalist Cliché?, Umění/Art LXV, 2017, pp. 123–139
Michaela Pejčochová, Posel z Dálného Východu, Praha 2019
Michaela Pejčochová (ed.), Mistři čínské tušové malby 20. století ze sbírek Národní Galerie v Praze (exh. cat.), Národní galerie v Praze 2008
Exhibition of Old and Modern Chinese Art
Publisher: Jednota umělců výtvarných (Union of Fine Arts) in Prague
Place and year of publication: Praha 1937
Anonymous author, Výstava čínského umění, Vinohradské listy, 1937, 20. 2., Archive of the National Gallery in Prague, fonds Moderní galerie (1902–1942), Výstřižkové knihy k výstavám, umělcům a činnosti MG i jiných galerií [books of newspaper clippings concerning exhibitions, artists and activities of MG and other galleries], acc. no. 939, book no. 11 (1936–1937)
jpgAnonymous author, Die Ausstellung alter und modern chinesischer Kunst, Prager Presse, 1937, 20. 2., Archive of the National Gallery in Prague, fonds Moderní galerie (1902–1942), Výstřižkové knihy k výstavám, umělcům a činnosti MG i jiných galerií [books of newspaper clippings concerning exhibitions, artists and activities of MG and other galleries], acc. no. 939, book no. 11 (1936–1937)
jpgAnonymous author, Výstava starého i moderního umění čínského v Praze, Pondělní večer, 1937, 22. 2., Archive of the National Gallery in Prague, fonds Moderní galerie (1902–1942), Výstřižkové knihy k výstavám, umělcům a činnosti MG i jiných galerií [books of newspaper clippings concerning exhibitions, artists and activities of MG and other galleries], acc. no. 939, book no. 11 (1936–1937)
jpgJč, Výstava starého i moderního čínského umění, Lidové noviny, 1937, 24. 2., Archive of the National Galleryin Prague, fonds Moderní galerie (1902–1942), Výstřižkové knihy k výstavám, umělcům a činnosti MG i jiných galerií [books of newspaper clippings concerning exhibitions, artists and activities of MG and other galleries], acc. no. 939, book no. 11 (1936–1937)
jpgF. K., Čínské umění, Pražské noviny, 1937, 5. 3., Archive of the National Gallery in Prague, fonds Moderní galerie (1902–1942), Výstřižkové knihy k výstavám, umělcům a činnosti MG i jiných galerií [books of newspaper clippings concerning exhibitions, artists and activities of MG and other galleries], acc. no. 939, book no. 11 (1936–1937)
jpgFrantišek Xaver Harlas, Výstava čínského umění, Národní politika, 1937, 28. 2., Archive of the National Gallery in Prague, fonds Moderní galerie (1902–1942), Výstřižkové knihy k výstavám, umělcům a činnosti MG i jiných galerií [books of newspaper clippings concerning exhibitions, artists and activities of MG and other galleries], acc. no. 939, book no. 11 (1936–1937)
jpgAnonymous author, Výstavy: Jednota umělců výtvarných: Výstava starého i moderního čínského umění, Lidové listy, venkovské vydání, 1937, 20. 2., Archive of the National Gallery in Prague, fonds Moderní galerie (1902–1942), Výstřižkové knihy k výstavám, umělcům a činnosti MG i jiných galerií [books of newspaper clippings concerning exhibitions, artists and activities of MG and other galleries], acc. no. 939, book no. 11 (1936–1937)
Anonymous author, Die Ausstellung alter und modern chinesischer Kunst, Prager Presse, 1937, 20. 2., Archive of the National Gallery in Prague, fonds Moderní galerie (1902–1942), Výstřižkové knihy k výstavám, umělcům a činnosti MG i jiných galerií [books of newspaper clippings concerning exhibitions, artists and activities of MG and other galleries], acc. no. 939, book no. 11 (1936–1937)
