Life

Warhol, Dali and Muchas come together in a rare art exhibition

December 22, 2017

Mariam Nihal



Saudi Gazette

A new exhibition featuring iconic works of Andy Warhol, Salvador Dal√≠ and Alphonse Mucha is now open to the public at the Renaissance palace U B√≠l√©ho jednoro≈æce (at the White Unicorn) in the Old Town Square in Prague. This is the first exhibition to take place at the palace after it’s recent renovation.

The exhibition presents American pop-art icon Andy Warhol and his unique collection of artworks.

Warhol‚Äôs - I’m OK, features some of his most famous creations such as Mao, Flowers, Marilyn Monroe and Campbell’s Soup, from the series Sunday B. Morning, alongside an exquisite hand-painted version of ‚ÄòFlowers‚Äô and a replica of one of artist‚Äôs famous factories, where everyone can try screen-printing Warhol‚Äôs motifs.

Indulge in a unique collection of 40 LP covers designed by Andy Warhol from 1949 - 1987 that were also published in a book in 2008 by Paul Maréchal.

Salvador Dali is one of the best-known artists of the 20th century whose chief works were influenced by surrealism, elaborating the ‘theme of dreams’. Back in 1921 when Dalí joined the Madrid school of fine arts Academia de San Fernando, he made acquaintance with Luis Buñuel and Federico García Lorca. His works of this period display elements of Futurism, metaphysical painting and Cubism. In 1925 his first one-man exhibition took place in the Dalmau Gallery in Barcelona. A year later when the artist visited Paris, where he met Pablo Picasso, he was introduced to the artists of the Paris avant-garde.

During a certain period in his life, Dalí began to develop his “paranoiac-critical method” based on spontaneously accessing the subconscious, which resulted in such characteristic paintings as The Lugubrious Game (1929) and The Persistence of Memory (1931).

Dalí used a wide range of symbols in his surrealistic works, the most familiar being the melting watch, symbolising the relativity of time as described by Albert Einstein. The exhibition ascribed the origin of this idea to Dalí’s observation of a Camembert cheese melting on a hot summer’s day. Other famous symbols on display at the exhibition included an elephant on slender legs and crawling ants, the latter of which symbolised, according to Dalí, death and fear. Many of his works and photographs from the beginning of his career to the end are on display at the exhibition.

The third segment of the exhibition shows the works of the Czech Art Nouveau painter and designer - Alfons Mucha.

Known to be one of the most important decorative artists, Mucha was born in Invančice, Bohemia, at a time when his country was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, struggling against the Habsburg policy of Germanization to maintain its own identity.

Contrary to popular belief he never thought he would become a painter. The decision came naturally when he saw Baroque master Umlauf working on a fresco. Mucha then applied to the Art Academy in Prague. At the age of 21, in 1881, he joined Messrs Kautsky – Brioschi - Burghardt, the Vienna theatrical scenery makers. At this time, he sketched both Sarah Bernhardt and Sardau, unaware at that time how important a role they would have in his future life. His proudest accomplishment of that period was his contribution to Charles Seignobos’ Sc`enes et episodes de l’histoire d’Allemagne. Mucha’s first panneaux were representations of the four seasons, posters for Lorenzaccio, the famous poster Monaco Monte-Carlo, Princess Hyacinth, Job posters lithographs, book illustrations – Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli, Rama or Clio, the national masterpiece ‘The Slav Epic’, including twenty massive- 24 x 30 feet canvasses, covering the history of the Slavic people from prehistory to the 19th century, which were handed to the city of Prague in 1928.

Location: Gallery of Art Prague, Staroměstské náměstí 15


December 22, 2017
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