작품 상세

One can view Emil Filla’s still life as a collection of everyday household items on a table. However, the manner in which they are treated, reflective of his work in the 1930s, dramatically digresses from the temperate still-lifes of the Dutch. In Filla’s interpretation, the objects on the table are part of the story. Sometimes they have been laid next to each other as harmonious integrated wholes| at other times, they compete for space. Common, but mysterious. The table or canvas of the still life becomes a screen onto which he projects his Cubist drama. Still Life with a Goblet and Apples is an important jigsaw-like work in Filla’s oeuvre in which he rejects the white foundation, terminates his white period, establishes the dominance of black in the composition, and raises the tension. This can be considered one of his first works presenting these characteristics. The work includes an original frame by the artist. As Filla explained, “A frame that is merged with the picture would be ideal, perhaps as can be seen in icons.” The central themes of Emil Filla’s work were Cubism and freedom of artistic expression. This important and contemplative painter, printmaker, sculptor and art critic was a propelling force in the principles of Cubism and later Czech Surrealism. He became a leading figure of the Osma art group, the establishment of which gave rise to the Edvard Munch exhibition in Prague in 1905. An expert assessment of the work has been prepared by PhDr. Rea Michalová, PhD.