Lovers

Černý’s oil Lovers was painted during the same period as his landscapes and Reclining Women that reflected the artist´s approach to the dire reality of war. A characteristic of these canvases is their clear, solid composition subjected to a geometric order. Their focalpoint, illuminated by an irreal light, stands out against the dark background, thus forming a disconcetring contrast. The paintings are umbued with symbolic themes and special visual means, in which an expressive, dense colouration and simple, promitivistic shapes play a decisive role. Through these features Černý achieves a sence of detachment from reality. The canvas Lovers, composed as a symmetrically constructed night scene, was created parallelly with the art of Group 42, and its magical realism bears an affinity with the Group’s works.