88th Auction, lot 132 This popular subject-matter, executed by Lada in many variations, is a poetic depiction of the spirit of Czech village, its local folklore, and an idealised memory of the artist’s childhood. Being the youngest of four cobbler children, Josef Lada was born in Hrusice, Central Bohemia, from where he drew inspiration throughout his life. This lyrical scene was created in the very turbulent time of the Second World War, which paradoxically was one of the most prolific periods of Lada’s work. The presented village scene is set in the spring, which was a frequent subject-matter in the artist’s repertoire at the beginning of the 1940s. It was then that the painter devoted himself to a series of works depicting a path to the village with a staffage in the foreground, blossoming trees in the middle plan, and a church on the horizon, which have the same format, technique, and similar composition; among others Spring Landscape (1941, 40 × 60 cm, private collection) and Czech Village (1942, 35,2 × 57,2 cm, National Gallery in Prague). The presented work is enriched with the specific motif of making wreaths, which Lada developed concurrently in the series on children’s games. Assessed during consultations by prof. J. Zemina and PhDr. R. Michalová, Ph.D. The expertise by PhDr. P. Pečinková, CSc., is attached.