Josef Čapek, 1887-1945
HEAD WITH A TOP HAT
undated (ca. 1915), oil on canvas
In its formal conception, this small painting depicting a man in a hat falls into the period in which the painter was coming to terms with Cubism, which he became acquainted with during his stay in France (1910-1911). In Čapek’s first Cubist canvases, the influence of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque is clearly visible. However, he soon developed his own, very distinctive reaction to the original Cubist stimuli. Head with Top Hat is part of a series of expressive oil paintings of heads that Čapek created during the first years of WW1, when painting saved him from falling into despair. Through simple artistic means, applying elementary, coloured areas bordered by black lines, the author attempted to capture the most intense expression.
