Cycle of Caricature Heads (Ein duzend Schönheiten) - cover sheet

Although Josef Karel Burde (1779-1848), the first inspector of the Picture Gallery of The Society of Patriotic Friends of Arts, only marginally engaged in figural art, his works are very original. Around 1800, he was probably the first Czech graphic artist to immerse himself in the theme of character heads and caricature self-portrait, though in almost miniature forms. In the final period of his graphic work, Burde did the small-format cycle Ein duzent Schönheiten (1814), the first series of caricature heads in the Czech milieu. The series follows the tradition of character heads in which the differentiation of human types was meant to serve as background material in art, but which also reflected theoretical deliberations on the relationship between human character and physiognomy. In Burde's concept, the humorous aspect prevails, but aesthetic theories about the affinity between ideal beauty and caricature hyperbole are also present.