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Lives lost and then found images

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My Godfather and mother´s Uncle was mysterious person. Although the oldest son of a widow, he became perfectly educated in fine arts and music. In the village where he settled he founded mill, restaurant, theatre, sponsored education of orphans from Ukraine (in a pre-WW II Czechoslovakia it was part of the republic), young artists and sportsmen. After 1948 when communism arrived, he lost everything. He was allowed to live in his house and garden at least. We never saw him depressed. He turned to bee keeping, making vine and to his large garden, which I later inherited.
In fifties he was imprisoned as an enemy of the state and released from the custody after six month – as a skeleton. Lost 50 kilograms and sent home to die with endocarditis. Thanks to one doctor he survived. He rarely spoke about this period, but we knew, that after several weeks of strict isolation with 24 hours not allowed to sleep and allowed to drink water just from the own toilet, he was in one cell with a priest who was painter. After death of him and his wife I have got their garden. In a garden house, full of old furniture and garden tools we found old frames of honeycombs. In between them, well protected with paapers, there were large xylographs signed by a famous priest-painter, who was in Moravia called “The Poet of woods”. His autobiography says, he was also in prison during communism. Was he that priest with whom Godfather shared the room in prison? Probably.
From 22 xylographs (as Large Arcane :) ) here are some of them:


Expulsion from paradise…


Untitled…


Waterfall…


Mystic (has all symbolic attributes of Card no 9 in Large Arcade)


Garden of Gethsemane


Devotion in the woods…

And many others. We will never learn why anybody from the family knew about these pictures and we just suspect why they were hidden in honeycombs for four decades.

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Comments

 

incredible pictures and their survival is amazing.

2 Mar, 2012

 

Thank goodness you found them, a harsh life they lived through Katarina, you have a treasure there......

2 Mar, 2012

 

I do not think so :) I found that many contemporary historians of the art do not know about him. Absolutely nothing. He was erased from the history. The only woman who was able to name some of the parts, but many of them even she did not know, was curator of a small gallery in the town where he lived.

2 Mar, 2012

 

Beautiful prints Katarina, and such a sad story. i am glad you have them safe.

Do you Keep Bees now Katarina?

2 Mar, 2012

 

No, Pimpernel. Bees need patience and time. But as I already wrote here somewhere, wild swarm of bees has settled in my garden and there are no tools how to get rid of them. So I learned to cohabitate with them :)

2 Mar, 2012

 

Those were very sad and upseting times in our countries Katarina. We were lucky we were born much later. You got really treasures in your house. Hope one day you'll be able to learn bit more about the author.

2 Mar, 2012

 

Kasia, I wasn´t born much later :) I lived 25 years in that wonderful regime, which gave so much to present politicians and millionaires :)

2 Mar, 2012

amy
Amy
 

What a truly heart rending story , it's amazing that the pictures survived for so long , do you still have them Kat ,? they are brilliant works of art , it seems impossible that there could have been more than one priest at that time doing such works of art in prison , I wonder that they are not in an art gallery . Thank you for showing them to us .. it's such a sad story .......

2 Mar, 2012

 

Sad story about your Godfather Kat..beautiful pictures..what a great find for you..:o)

2 Mar, 2012

 

Brought tears to my eyes just staring at the pictures, I feel something..as if I were there myself once..don't know why.

2 Mar, 2012

 

ooh Michaella ...now thats spooky...are you ok..

2 Mar, 2012

 

I just noticed Katarina that there is a snail in the Mystic print..Snails seem to be in lots of your blogs.

2 Mar, 2012

 

aww..thank you Joanella...those were the days for me...I have had visions like that in my life, not anymore though :)))

2 Mar, 2012

 

:o))

2 Mar, 2012

 

Very interesting Katarina - those pictures are beautiful

2 Mar, 2012

 

We canfind things we don't expect when clearing the houses of our relations. These are wonderful, and they've got an interesting story behind them. Thanks for showing them.

3 Mar, 2012

 

What lovely pictures. I do hope that someday you will find somebody who knows more about them. Thank you for sharing.

3 Mar, 2012

 

Good morning, Amy. Yes, I have all pictures, I keep them as family treasury :) I don´t think the author got paintning tools in the prison. He was painting during all his life, and some of these pictures were recognised by the gallery as those belonging to a large cycle called "Woods". Most of it was painted before the WWII.
Michaella, I can pretty understand your feelings. The same I had on Vienna exhibition of old Egypt art, I was temted to cry, as all those things were so familiar with me :) :) Good art evokes emotions in people and that is good.
Pim, you have bright eyes :) I made photos of a poorer quality because of light reflections so many details are blurred, but you noticed the most important symbol of mystic - the snail :)

3 Mar, 2012

 

You are wellcome, Nariz. There are some more to share. Maybe later.:)

3 Mar, 2012

 

Amazing pictures (feels like a very sad person drew them).

Your poor Godfather, bad times.

3 Mar, 2012

bjs
Bjs
 

Kat. Your writings are very Graphic thanks for sharing that piece of your history which hopefully can now be kept for future generations.

3 Mar, 2012

 

These pictures are so powerful..I cannot seem to look at them for too long anymore...they are awesome, real and sad at the same time. There are certain things in life which captures me and I tend to go many many years back as if I were there long before my birth.

3 Mar, 2012

 

:) I hope Michaella, you were never exposed treatment like these people had here. That is why I consider everything connected with secret services here and there to be just awful game with lot of victims.
I will sned for you another picture, which will make you smile. Have a look in the evening.

3 Mar, 2012

 

Thank you Brian. Just explain me what do I do? What is writing graphic, please?

3 Mar, 2012

 

amazing works of art Katarina, so lucky that they have survived like this, wonderful..

3 Mar, 2012

bjs
Bjs
 

Katarina. < graphic >
Giving a clear and effective picture of what you describe.

3 Mar, 2012

 

Thank you, Surreylad. Brian, writing is my hobby after garden :) Amy was so kind and she already explained me the graphic writing. Well, somebody paints wonderfuly - like you, somebody tries to write graphicaly, lol.

3 Mar, 2012

 

What wonderful texture these pictures have. they could almost be embroideries. And what a sad story of your godfather, but you have treasured memories of him too.
Keep them all safe!

8 Mar, 2012

 

Thank you, Sandy :)

8 Mar, 2012

 

Your ancestor is a hero for me Katarina, Im very glad that your a part of them and very thankful the old story was freshly remembered and perfectly kept these pictures!

15 Mar, 2012

 

Thank you, Junna. Cemeteries are full of heroes and newspapers full of liars, :)

15 Mar, 2012

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