Years in Days Czech Art 1945–1957

This richly illustrated monograph from Marie Klimesova, spanning thirteen chapters, reflects the key themes, trends, personalities and events that helped to shape the image of the period from 1945 to 1957 and that represented fundamental values characteristic of Czech art in the second half of the 20th century. The book is divided into two main periods, each of them coinciding with a major historical turning point: the political coup in 1948 and its consequences on Czech culture in the first instance and the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and its critique of Stalinism in the second. The reader is thus able to observe how artists reacted first to the disillusion stemming from the experience of the war and turning away from classic techniques used in modernism; how they later faced the ruining of intellectual and creative potential in society and how they seized the opportunity in the climate of a greater ideological tolerance after 1956. A panorama of strong personalities links together the work of the young post-war generation with key artists from the pre-war art scene such as Emil Filla, Jan Zrzavy and Alen Divis. The book focuses mainly on visual art – painting, sculpture, drawing, collage, graphic arts and photography. Among dozens of authors listed are such as Andrej Belocvetov, Vaclav Bostik, Vladimir Boudnik, Pavel Brazda, Libor Fara, Miroslav Hak, Frantisek Hudecek, Josef Istler, Cestmir Kafka, Jiri Kolar, Jan Krizek, Jan Lukas, Mikulas Medek and Emila Medkova, Zdenek Palcr, Robert Piesen, Stanislav Podhrazsky, Bohuslav Reynek, Zbynek Sekal, Zdenek Sklenar, Josef Sudek, Josef Sima, Vaclav Tikal, Jiri Toman, Toyen and many other often unjustly marginalised authors.

The book has an English summary.