Page:The Czechoslovak Review, vol4, 1920.pdf/308

great mass of humanity clad in white celebrate the great harvest festival of the Svantovít and witness the ancient triumph of this goddess over the wolves of Thor and the surrender of the sacred sword; and crowds stand in the snow before the majestic towers of the Kremlin to hear the famous proclamation of the czar that freed the serfs.

These are the themes of Mucha’s gigantic wall paintings, themes that will grip the hearts of all who see them. Though few may know all the details of Slavic history that these portray their significance is easily grasped. This not an art for the dilletante but for the men in the street. Dramatic, full of story interest, with a marvelous wealth of detail, yet consistent in their ensemble and overpowering bigness of conception, full of mystery and poetry, and above all expressive of the modern spirit, these great decorations are universal in their appeal and stir both artist and layman. However, these paintings are not murals in the orthodox sense of the word, because they are not flat. In this respect and also because they are literary in their appeal rather than abstract, they do not rank with those of the great Puvis de Chavannes who has set the standard for all modern mural decoration.

The panels shown at the Art institute are five of a series of twenty which will be presented to Prague. Mucha has been working on these since 1911. Six others have been completed, but these are not shown here. These decorations, like his illustrations for the Lord’s Prayer, represent the mature work of an artist who won his first recognition by making posters. While living in Paris, he saw Sarah Bernhardt act, and she inspired him to try his hand at posters of her in the different roles in which he saw her playing. But regarding painting as an art of greater importance he decided to give up posters and devote all his time to murals.

As one of the leaders of the “art noveau” movement in the decorative arts, his books of designs adapted from plant and animal forms have been a bible for art students. His fondness for the figure in design has been responsible for its frequent use in modern times.

Like all geniuses his life reads like a story book. Born in Moravia, he succeeded in dissuading his parents from making a priest of him. After going through all sorts of hardships, which, among other things, consisted of living on black bread and pork grease in his student days, he found a patron who started him on his brilliant career which led him to Vienna, Munich and Paris. The story is told that when he was first beginning to win recognition and was living in Nikolsburg, he was forced to wear his overcoat at social functions because of the precarious condition of his trousers. One day a tailor came to take his measure for a pair of trousers, but it was not revealed until years after that it was the young women of the town who took up a collection to pay the tailor. The latest chapter in his eventful career was during the late war, when he was practically a prisoner in Prague, and carrots were the chief article of his diet.—Marguerite B. Williams in the Chicago Daily News.

CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES, by Šárka B. Hrbkova, Duffield and Co.

Another welcome addition to the translations of Czechoslovak literature has appeared and this time from the pen of Miss Šárka B. Hrbkova, formerly profesor of Slavonic Languages and Literature in the University of Nebraska.

It is a collection of short stories selected from the leading Bohemian writers of late years. The translations are excellent.

Miss Hrbkova’s introduction is in fact a proper survey of the Czechoslovak literature for the busy person. Another excellent feature is found in the short biographical sketch of the authors whose short stories are translated and appear in the pages following. We cannot have too many such books. The stories are selected for their briefness in order that as wide a field as possible may be covered.

The Rev. Vincent Písek, D. D., Pastor of the John Hus Presbyterian Church in New York City, who volunteered as a Y. M. C. A. worker with the Czechoslovak troops in Siberia, returned in the spring of this year with one contingent to the new republic. He is delivering addresses throughout the country on his experience in America and Siberia. From accounts apearing in the Czechoslovak papers he is meeting with signal success. When he returns to America, the “Review” expects to publish one or two articles from his pen.

The new address of the Czechoslovak Review is 106 E. 19th St. New York, N. Y.