The Raven of Karlštejn

Since 1882 Aleš, having abandoned oil painting, fully devoted himself to two new fields - illustrations and sgraffiti. The Karštejn Raven is one his last oil paintings - its motif was influenced by the new surroundings in the vicinity of the hunting lodge Hvězda, where the Aleš family made their new home. The painting was meant as a part of a cycle of paintings devoted to Prague. Aleš was interested neither in correct perspective nor dimensions, he wanted to transfer on canvas a literary motif: in the picture we see only a forlorn tree and a gloomy bird. Aleš found his inspiration in Václav Beneš Třebízký's historical prose and in Edgar Allan Poe's magic vision, which he wanted to illustrate.