Pittermann-Longen Emil Artur 1885–1936

At the lake, 1926

oil on canvas, frame, 45,5 × 46 cm, signed. LD E. A. LONGEN, PD 1926 Provenance: important collection of the owner from North Moravia. Professionally consulted by PhDr. Marie Dohnalová, PhDr. Jiří Machalický, PhDr. Rea Michalová, PhD.

Emil Artur Pittermann-Longen was a writer in many fields, author of biographical prose, playwright, director, translator, actor, comedian and last but not least, a painter. He was one of the greatest stormtroopers and bohemians of the first third of the 20th century, he was friends with Egon Erwin Kisch or Jaroslav Hašek. In his not very long life he had so many different activities that he could not devote himself systematically to painting and in some periods he preferred other artistic fields. A considerable part of his time of his time was devoted to the theatre, for which he also worked as a scenic designer. At the beginning of ...he exhibited with the famous group Osma, which he co-founded. Soon he was ...he broke with the other members of the group. As an actor, he worked mainly ...in cabarets, he went through several companies, some of which he founded. The most important was the Revolutionary Stage, where original plays were performed and which ...that presented classics in a new and unconventional way. From 1923 to 1930. he collaborated with Vlasta Burian and also worked in the famous cabaret Red Seven. He also focused his attention on film. Despite these activities, his best paintings are of exceptional quality. He painted consistently until 1910 and then in the early 1920s and after 1926, when he stayed in Šumava, whose dark beauty inspired him. He was influenced by cubism in his painting and was directed towards towards an impressive and above all expressive expression. It was reflected in his He also had a deep social sensibility, which brought him close to Josef Čapek, for example. or artists belonging to the Social Group, also called Ho - Ho - Ko - Ko after the initial syllables of their surnames (Holan, Holý, Kotík, Kotrba). His paintings have a distinctive yet subtly balanced colour palette, They show a distinct sense of the environment and the to capture the atmosphere of the depicted situations and stories. They express tension, they radiate energy and at the same time have a well thought-out composition. The blending of influences has led to a distinctive, lively and fresh expression. He created a series of remarkable paintings that are among the best of in Czech art in the first thirty years of the last century. Among those The most outstanding of these is the painting At the Lake from 1926, which is a great example of of the painter's mature period. In this pastoral expressive painting, the blends a sense of capturing the mysterious mood of the landscape with the robust gesture and an expressive yet precisely chosen palette.