89th Auction, lot 77 Antonín Slavíček was a leading Czech modern landscape painter and an eminent personality within the young generation of students of Julius Mařák at the Prague Academy. The Neighbourhood of Oldřichovec presents high-quality proof of the artist’s mature work, constantly undergoing dynamic development and re-evaluation of artistic views. His works executed in Oldřichovec in South Bohemia, where Slavíček stayed in the summer of 1908, form a transition from the large-scale panoramas of Prague to his final creative period and carry a more lyrical impression, a condensation of vehicles of expression and an effort to faithfully capture the nature and its fundamental elements – air, soil, and water. During this period, Slavíček was also attracted to other South Bohemian locations such as Chelčice, Vodňany, and Bechyně. The presented painting was executed in light dynamic brushwork and lit by intense daylight, whilst the cottages on the steep slope create the dominant diagonal axis of the composition. Everything is depicted with extreme simplification, which does not prevent the beholder from getting an impression of a specific place with its sensual qualities. At the same time, it is a unique fusion of light atmosphere, expression, and realism and, last but not least, a clear example of the difference between French Impressionism and Czech painters, who continued to tie the colour shade to a sensory perception based on reality. The painting was exhibited at the Jubilee exhibition Antonín Slavíček’s works (SVU Mánes, 1932, February–March; cat. No. 191, under the title Village) and published in: Výtvarné umění, Časopis ústředního svazu Československých výtvarných umělců [Visual arts, Journal of the Central Union of Czechoslovak Visual Artists], vol. V., No. 2, 1955, p. 87; J. Kotalík: Inventory of Antonín Slavíček's works, Prague 1965, listed in the “Missing works” section under the title Cottages on the Hillside, cat. No. 32; Jan Tomeš: Antonín Slavíček, Odeon, Prague 1966, p. 116, cat. No. 404). It comes from a high-quality Moravian collection. Assessed during consultations by prof. R. Prahl, CSc., and prof. J. Zemina. The expertise of PhDr. K. Srp is attached.