The Air of Home

The artist painted The Air of Home during the artist’s stay in Krkonoše (Giant Mountains) in the autumn of 1895. At that time, František Kaván was step by step receding from his colleagues in Julius Mařák’s landscape painting studio, more approximating the artists from the symbolistic decadent magazine Moderní revue (Modern Revue), mainly Karel Hlaváček. He also began to be engaged in poetry at that time. This painting is a prime work of his oeuvre. The masterful painting of the horizontally composed landscape is incredibly fragile and sensitive. Kaván created a significant and recognisable style of a melancholic and poetic landscape. The simplicity of the delicate colours and sense of detail are extremely strong and intense.