Mountain Crystal - Adalbert Stifter

Despite of the gap of almost 200 years Ladislav Sýkora (1964) and Adalbert Stifter (1805–1868) are connected by shared fundamental principles influencing their artistic personalities. Both had been impressed by religious ceremonies since their childhood, especially by Easter and Advent celebrations. Both artists lived, of course, in a totally different period. Stifter’s work knows no rush or abbreviation, flows gently, is full of respect to things and events, one never knows what is more important – the big or the small. Even though he rarely mentions religion or faith, every line reflects his deep belief in God. His works are governed by purity and nobility without any trace of decadence or psychology. The world of Sýkora’s art is different. He does not avoid his era with its frequently low aesthetics; he appreciates folk religiousness, child imagination and caricatures village life in an amiable manner. He has a great sense of story and is almost always present in it, either visibly or invisibly, he knows no distance, he is always personal and thus credible. The linocuts by Ladislav Sýkora do not interpret Stifter’s story but create its sensitive counterpart and illustration.