Friday, March 17, 2006

Josef Váchal










Josef Váchal (1884-1969) was a Czech printmaker, graphic designer, writer, painter, wood carver and bookbinder.

"He published books using hand-made paper in print runs of one to twenty books. Apart from books he also worked at free-hand drawing, especially coloured woodcuts, painting, decorations for ceramics and woodcarvings for furniture. The ideas behind his writing and creative work oscillate between deep and informed respect to baroque book production, shopkeepers' poems and folk 'bloody' novels of the 18th and 19th centuries, and an interest in oriental religions and philosophy, theology and demonology."
Váchal was friends with another printer, Josef Portman from Litomyšl who commissioned Váchal to paint murals in Portman's house. Despite Váchal being hounded for his anti-communist beliefs, the house was saved and restored as the Váchal Museum and is referred to as Portmoneum.

3 comments :

cruelanimal said...

These are amazing -- especially the woodcuts.

I love your blog. I feel refreshed everytime I visit.

M said...

These are wonderful! And I remember that Russian style in children's books from my childhood. :)

Matt said...

Nice work finding more of this stuff.

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