Drápal Vladimír 1921–2016

Head of a man in a beret, 1974

terracotta, height 34 cm, signed on the side VL.D.74
Vladimír Drápal's work is based on the modernist tradition of in shape abbreviation, abstract, reduced expression and sovereign drawing made with a few strokes of the pen, reminiscent of Picasso's inspiration or the shape and volume modelling of Brancusi and Moore. Intentional stylization of human figures, portraits and animals leading to various shapes and deformations does not bring his work closer to the grotesque, but rather to the form of of prehistoric and primitive depictions and pre-images, emphasizing only certain archetypal features and characteristics of the depicted object. In this way Drápal's favourite rural women are often depicted as "Venus" or unique sculptural portraits of villagers. Ceramic or wooden busts of various male types and characters were first modeled in a sculptural manner, but after the mid-1970s 1920s, they became dominated by a compact smooth volume, in which the features of the of the sitter are engraved with a few concise, precise strokes. Accompanying this work is a monograph by V. Drápal.