tempera, cardboard, 29 × 40 cm

posthumous estate donation in 2020

The career of Ostrava-born Josef Kurzava passed through several phases. In his early works (both landscapes and portraits) we can see typical features of Expressionism. His style later became somewhat calmer, especially in his landscapes from the Beskydy mountains and the region of Wallachia, though he also frequently depicted industrial landscapes from the Ostrava region. He worked mainly in oils and gouache. His colour schemes typically feature earthy tones.

The painting Beskydy Landscape shows a view of a landscape divided into several spatial planes which combine to form a complete entity. The relaxed style and colour scheme, capturing the early spring season, are typical features of Kurzava’s work. This is his first rural landscape in the gallery’s collections; it represents an appropriate complement to the existing collection of five paintings depicting urban scenes from Ostrava.