Brass Band Coming! (Street)

The drawing Brass Band Coming! (Street) is one of a series of illustrations made for Humoristické listy (Humoristic Paper). The drawing represents the artist’s mature period, in which Josef Lada developed a distinctive drawing style. The action in the image is initiated by the streaming crowd composed of a wide range of human types. The treatment of space does not correspond to the typical linear composition, but is fragmented into independent sections. The figures and objects are deformed, which underscores the image’s sense of dynamism. These properties bear some common features with Cubism. Lada’s drawing, like some of his other works, is ambivalent in nature. Besides its humorous content, it is also a critical commentary on the role of the individual in the modern world.