Reynek Bohuslav 1892–1971

Adoration of the Shepherds, 1950

drypoint, monotype, paper, 9 × 22 cm, mount, frame, glass, signed in pencil bottom Reynek
Lit.: In R. Bernardi's file G 284. Bohuslav Reynek, Arbor Vitae. The majority of Bohuslav Reynek's extraordinary graphic work was created in the relatively mature age of the author from the 1950s in the seclusion of a farmhouse in Petrkov in the Highlands. Graphic sheets, dry needles or etchings small formats contained concentrated statements, often based on biblical scenes or simple scenes from the farm and its surroundings with nature and animals. Christian scenes and stories are depicted in Reynek's in Reynka's stories, which became primarily human, intimately experienced events that concerned the personal level of man. The close association and coexistence with animals, cats, goats and sheep, which play the role of beings closest to humans in Reynek's letters, show the age-old belonging of man to nature and also refer to Christian symbolism. The effect of Reynek's graphic leaves is enhanced by the representation of light, which comes as if from within the scene and illuminates its surroundings.