Auction 84th, Lot 180 This exceptional painting is an excellent, very distinctive representative of František Muzika's mature work. Muzika was one of the key representatives of Czech modernism between the wars, gradually adopting Picasso-like neoclassicism and then reuniting his aesthetic feelings with the Devětsil generation, which was beginning to move towards imaginative painting. In the end, he was one of the few who after the war remained faithful to surrealism. The brilliantly mastered work is an excellent example of the author's favourite theme of swamps – these have appeared throughout his work since the late 1920's - by which he joined the artificialist tendencies of Jindřich Štyrský and Toyen. However, he followed his own, specific path and developed a diverse artistic language of cellular structures, built on endless metamorphoses, revealing the very heart of life, which is commonly hidden from view. Through this infinite microcosm Muzika approached lyrical abstraction, only to subsequently deviate from it and amplify the clearly determined boundaries of shapes and the evocative atmosphere of his paintings. The monochrome canvas, whose complex internal structure is in the form of a fine mesh of cells, is formed by a thoughtfully layered coloured mass. The attractiveness of the painting is enhanced by its presentation at the Baukunst Gallery in Cologne in 1972 (September 28 - November 18, 1972) and its black-and-white reproduction in the catalogue published for the exhibition. The work is listed in the author's personal list under the number 845. Assesed during consultations by PhDr. R. Michalová, Ph.D. and prof. J. Zemina. From the attached expertise by PhDr. K. Srp: "[...] Muzika's self-contained inner world, which reached its peak in the mid-1960's, still attracts attention with its artistic transparency. [...]".