Robert Hliněnský 1908 – 1979 Shadows, 1966

Signed lower right R. Hliněnský, signed on the reverse of the canvas R. Hliněnský 1966. 70.5 × 83.3 cm, oil on canvas, framed, label with the title of the work on the reverse. 

Expert opinion by PhDr. Rea Michalová Ph.D. attached.

The presented painting, "Stíny" (Shadows), is an artistically undeniable, representative, lyrically abstract work by Robert Hliněnský, one of the most remarkable painting personalities working in the Moravian metropolis.

Robert Hliněnský's personality traits—introversion, modesty, and intense concentration on his own work without the need for self-promotion—contributed to his painting remaining somewhat unfairly overlooked, with exhibitions held after his death helping to bring it to a wider audience.

In 2010, the House of the Lords of Kunštát in Brno hosted a dual exhibition of Václav Boštík (1913–2005) – Robert Hliněnský (1908–1979), which highlighted the similar artistic starting points and creative features of both artists. Their common key theme was the relationship between space and light. Their painting blends calm and harmony, order, and the interpretation of sensory perceptions with a peculiar tension.

The initial period of Robert Hliněnský’s painting career is associated with figural work. In the 1940s, this was followed by civilist-themed motifs from the Brno periphery, characterized by color cultivation and an effort to offer a painterly interpretation of the modern poetics of the urban exterior. After a brief interest in theatrical themes, Hliněnský focused on landscape, primarily its color.

Contact with nature remained the main impulse and inspiration for his work. He gradually abandoned concrete depiction, and his paintings reflect his inner world, ideas, and reflections on the relationship between man and the universe and his existence, with their meditative character growing ever more intense. The spatial quality of the painting is evoked by the relationship between color fields and stains, changing under the influence of light, which enhances the magical effect of the painting. From the late 1960s, Robert Hliněnský completely eliminated any hint of shape and detached himself from mass. The painting resonates with interpenetrating color harmonies illuminated by diffuse light, which significantly changes the intensity of the color scale. The subtlety of the color differentiation in his nearly monochrome canvases is achieved by limiting himself to a few values of a single color, with a delicate hint of another shade.

Robert Hliněnský was born on November 3, 1908, in Brno. From 1926–1930, he studied at the School of Applied Arts in Brno, attending the special class for decorative painting under Professor E. Hrbek. From 1932–1941, he was employed in the painting workshops of the Provincial Theatre in Brno, after which he worked as an independent artist. From 1943–1949, he was a member of the Aleš Association of Fine Artists in Brno, and simultaneously a member of the Bloc of Fine Artists of the Moravian-Silesian Region (1945–1948). After 1945, he visited Nová Paka, and from 1953–1955, he resided there permanently. From 1948–1970, he was a member of the Union of Czechoslovak Fine Artists, within which he was a member of the M creative group in Brno (1959–1963) and the Parabola creative group (1963–1964).

The presented painting, "Stíny" (Shadows), represents a work in which painting becomes a reflection of the painter's inner world, his dreaming, melancholic contemplation, and reflections on man's relationship to the universe. The initial impulse was a real impression of a landscape scenery, but it is distinctly abstracted. The magnificently orchestrated earthy tones create a mysterious space from which indefinite shapes emerge, leaving the viewer free for associations that reach into the depths of human consciousness.