Page 266 - TOP 10 CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS - Volume I

Bedriška Znojemská

Lives and works in Praga, Czech Republic
www.znojemska.cz

The Painting of Modern Symbolism
In the painting of Bedriska Znojemska we find several her lyrical reflection here which leads her unerringly in

aesthetic nuances which diverge from one source – the the painting work and takes her away from the classical
modern symbolism. According to the present-day theory methods somewhere further- to a modern perception of
of art we could call the specificity of modern symbolism of the world and experiencing of reality. Her paintings have

Bedriska Znojemska “iconic symbolism”, i. e. taking as its a religious content, tell a religious story, but at the same
point of departure such a conception of the symbol when time the paintings of Bedriska Znojemska do have a plot,
the paintress on the hand takes for her starting point the they tell stories with a religious content. Bergson was right
portrayal of a certain object or figure as a “model” (e. g. a when he spoke about the analogy between the fabulative
figure becomes a sign, a symbol), on the other hand leans function of art and the fabulative function of religion. In

on an allegorical idea in the picture. In the Czech history the work of Bedriska Znojemska we observe that religious
of painting we often meet in the last decades among the fabulation represents, to put it with Bergson, a defensive
authors who tend towards symbolism with neo-classicism. reaction of nature against the disruptive power of reason.

In the case of Bedriska Znojemska we, however, see that The aesthetic category ”claritas” does not contain only
above all the drawing and the coloration did not succumb rational meanings but also physical light and heavenly
to this thinking. The paintress takes the road of lyrical spirit.
reflection which is an essential feature of her paintings. Another nuances of expression is for Bedriska Znojemska
This reflection helped her to overcome the static and the romantic symbolism. The natural inspirations are with

decorative character of neo-classicism. her varied – from an impressions in which the light is
Let us now look concretely at the individual nuances of dominant over the fusion of the figure and the nature up to
expression of her “iconic symbolism”. the depiction of natural elements, for instance of the wind,

We observe above all an interesting succession of of the movement of light etc. It is necessary to mention
paintings created in the spirit of religious contemplation. again the specific character of the style of the authoress:
Bedriska Znojemska is one of the few paintresses in our in contradistinction to the antiquarian romanticism which
country who systematically devote themselves to religious we know from the history of art she lays stress on the
topics in the drawing, in the illustration, in the wall painting psychology of the figure, on the gestures, on the inner

inside the churches. It is interesting that we find in her motivation of the figures which long to fuse with the
works neither the literary epic character nor the historical nature. We shall meet also “wild characters” in the spirit of
TOP CONTEMPOR ARY ARTISTS her attitude towards the topic which takes as its starting the boundary of expression itself, she does not let herself
hot-headed romanticism. The paintress, however, gets to
patterns of composition but that she in each work seeks

point an original idea of her own. There appears again
be carried away by the outward signs of expression but

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