ZDENĚK BURIAN — 120 YEARS HIS OWN WAY

On the occasion of the 120th anniversary of Zdeněk Burian's birth, the Czech Gallery of Modern Art reminds the public of this exceptional personality, who indelibly influenced 20th-century book illustration and whose reconstructions of prehistoric nature laid the foundations of "European paleoart."

Thanks to the kindness of the owner of a unique private collection, Ing. Milan Velek, we will present to the general public a collection of almost unknown and rarely published Burian gouaches. We thus have the opportunity to view a collection that, thanks to the immense collecting efforts of Ing. Jan Prádler, was created over a quarter of a century.

The gouache technique occupies a significant place in Zdeněk Burian's work. He predominantly used it for book illustrations. Gouache thus became Burian's "signature" for readers, and it was thanks to it that his illustrations gained an unmistakable color, depth, and atmosphere that continues to appeal to generations of readers today.

Unlike oil painting and pen-and-ink drawing, gouache was ideal for colorful scenes intended for reproduction. Burian used it to quickly and impressively capture dramatic moments, striking color contrasts, and detailed modeling of shapes. This technique produced hundreds of illustrations for adventure literature (Jules Verne, Karel May, Jack London), for the stories of Eduard Štorch and Rudolf Luskáč, as well as for the popular science books of Josef Augusta (Hunters of Cave Bears, From Ancient Ages, Images from Prehistory).

This exhibition is a tribute to the giant of 20th-century illustration, occupying an exceptional position not only in our country but also worldwide.

The exhibition partner is PRE a.s. www.pre.cz