A painter and graphic artist, Tichý studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (1917−1923) in the studio of Karl Krattner but did not complete his studies. He spent the years 1929−1935 in France, where, among others, he worked in a textile factory, as a porcelain painter and in a circus. He was fascinated by the circus surroundings, the life of the performers and the way they balanced on a wire between life and death —— also as a metaphor for human fate, and it became a part of his oeuvre. He was a member of Devětsil, Umělecká Beseda and the Mánes artists’ association. From 1945 to 1951 he taught at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague. His subject matter consisted typically of the city and its cafés and busy streets, but also the desolation of the margins. Still lifes formed a large proportion of his works. His oeuvre is individual and outside the mainstream art movements. The dominant element was his own lyrical version of pointilism, in which he was influenced by Georges Seurat, and light used as a means of expression, which was almost an echo of Venetian painting and reflected his fascination with Tintoretto.