Prokop Valley

The watercolour entitled Prokopské údolí (Prokop Valley) belongs with Špála’s typical landscape themes. After leaving the Fine Artists’ Group in 1911, Špála re−worked and radicalized his earlier artistic precepts. He gradated the concept of the painting, based on the articulation of the abstract planar fields. This gave rise to dynamic forms, abounding in tension and motion. Their expressive nature was underscored by the variability of the sharp, broken and rounded forms, whose composition was directed towards harmonizing the overall picture plane. Most of his works produced in 1913 have a clearly defined centre, with the composition’s other elements evolving around it. With regard to his working method, Špála’s works were characterized by a lightness and spontaneity of style, reflected both in his treatment of colour and of the pencil−drawn areas.