| Václav Špála, 1885-1946 felt into the class of the artist generation which had a fundamental portion in forming the Czech modern art in the period before the formation of the independent Czechoslovakia and in the period between the Wars. During his studies at the Prague Academy of Graphic Art where he had been attending the studio of Vlaho Bukovac and František Thiele in the years 1903-1909, he met Vincenc Beneš, Emil Filla, Otakar Kubín, Bedřich Feigl, Willy Nowak, V. H. Brunner, E. A. Pittermann-Longen, Max Horbe and Zdeněk Kratochvíl, mostly the future members of the Osma and of the Graphic Group. In that period Špála was influenced by the Edvard Munch´s work, who exhibited in Prague in 1905, but also by a unique fauvistic colourfulness which he was founding an inspiration by Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh and Auguste Renoir for. Even though he was with his opinion and graphic manifest very close to the artists of the Osma he had never become a member of it. But he became a member of the Association of Graphic Artists Mánes in 1909, a member of the Group of Graphic Artists in 1911 and a member of the \"Tenacious\" in 1918. Špála´s work inspired by the nature and Czech countryside topics was markedly sensitive and intuitive whereabouts it used Cézanne´s solid painting tectonics and synthesis of cubism and expressionism expression means. For a short period since 1914 there it was coming to an advice from Robert Delaunay´s orfism by Špála, perhaps being mediated by the work of František Kupka or Antonín Procházka. In 1923 there was being concluded Špála´s cubism period, his artistic work started to calm down in its expression and colour scale ranged among pure tinges of red, blue and green.
From the first half of the Twenties Špála built a numerous clientele of his painting customers to which felt many colleagues from his profession - Josef Čapek, Emil Filla, Josef Gočár, Kamil Hilbert, Bohumil Kubišta, Otakar Novotný, Jan Slavíček, František Tichý, further they were writers - Helena Čapková, František Halas, František Langer, Marie Majerová, S. K. Neumann, Emil Pacovský, Josef Palivec, Václav Renč, Jaroslav Seifert, Ladislav Stehlík, Fráňa Šrámek, art historian - František Kovárna, Jan Květ, K. B. Mádl, Antonín Matějček, Jaromír Pečírka, V. V. Štěch, František Žákavec, publishers (publishing houses) and journalists - Bohuslav Janda (Sfinx), Ladislav Janda (Kramerius), Jaroslav Šalda (Melantrich), Rudolf Škeřík (Symposion), Otakar Štorch Marien (Aventinum), the company J. R. Vilímek, European Literary Club, Arne Laurin (Prager Presse), Jaroslav Stránský (Lidové noviny) and politicians - Edvard Beneš, Zdeněk Fierlinger, Klement Gottwald, Emil Hácha, Václav Kopecký, T.G. Masaryk. Common buyers and collectors often recruited from more educated society class; One of the most known was for example originally a teacher, later a secretary of the Group of Graphic Artists in Brno František Venera, a doctor Otakar Teyschl, a theatre historian, critic and dramatist Jan Bartoš, tradesman Rudolf Hršel or lawyers František Čeřovský and František J. Weber. Generally we can say that into the class of the most frequent buyers there felt doctors, engineers, teachers, but also actors, factory owners, ministerial counsellors, officers of the Czechoslovak army and bankers. Other works bought mostly privat galleries in Prague, in regions and abroad (numerous works bought the state Modern Gallery as well), further companies, enterprises, banks, loan banks etc. On many occasions Špála exchanged his work for various subjects (in the list there appear furriers, goldsmiths, framers, butchers and glove-makers) and he presented the members of his own relatively large family and personal friends, e.g. Josef and Miloslav Bodyš with series of it.
Since 1926 Špála started to make an evidence of his work. At first he listed the works being painted before 1926 that were occurring in his studio (namely not sold works) and afterwards he started to make the evidence already in chronological sequence of other paintings being originated from 1926 till his death in 1946. From that reason we cannot find the paintings in that list which had been already long time sold, presented, eventually exchanged in the time when Špála started to make the evidence. The list of Václav Špála´s work is contributive in several respects. Except basic data about separate works we can form an idea of how many paintings Špála was creating and also selling during one year. In view of the fact that in the later years Špála added to the items also the particular day of the work origin it is possible to determine well, how many works he was able to paint in one day. Taking into consideration that Špála wrote the evidence numbers of separate items of the list also on the back side of blind frame of his paintings, our editorially adjusted list can serve as an identification mean for the identifying of Špála´s work.
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