Study for the Painting, the Madonna of the Distaff

The theme of the Virgin Mary with a distaff was not entirely common, but was fully in keeping with Tkadlík’s concept of surprising the viewer with his originality. The definitive concept of a delicate portrait of a young girl, rendered in a pyramidal composition, derives from his inspiration with Raphael’s Madonnas. This graceful drawing is distinguished by soft and clearly defined lines of black and white chalk and light touches of red; given the artist’s superb treatment of the picture space, the image is imbued with plasticity. In Tkadlík’s entire oeuvre, the drawing has been invariably regarded as a unique masterpiece in its own right.