The painting 'Venice I' by Zrzavý was auctioned for 8.5 million crowns

Venice I. photo: 1. Art Consulting Brno - Prague

Prague - The painting Venice I. by Jan Zrzavý from 1928 was auctioned today in Prague for eight million crowns, and the new owner acquired it for 8.5 million without the auction fee, which in this case amounts to 18 percent.
    A surprise at the beginning of the auction was the auction of the oil painting by Antonín Procházka (1882-1945) titled Male Head. After a bidding war among bidders in the hall and on the phone, its price rose from the original 3.2 million to eight million crowns. The auction was organized by 1. Art Consulting Brno - Prague at the Topič Salon. It also offered other attractive works.
    New owners were found for 76 percent of the total 190 items. The total amount auctioned was 66 million crowns. This amount includes auction fees, which range from 16 to 20 percent depending on the achieved price.
    The first item auctioned was an oil on canvas by the founder of Czech Baroque fame, Karel Škréta (1610-1674), entitled St. Wenceslas Redeems Pagan Children. According to the owner of the auction house, Jiří Rybář, the Ministry of Culture showed no interest in priority purchasing this lunette from the castle gallery in Mělník owned by the Lobkowicz family six months ago. The large canvas was auctioned at its starting price of five million crowns.
    Zrzavý's painting Venice I. is one of the most significant works of this painter, in which he reconciled with his beloved city. He considered it so significant that he created a new version in 1965. The painting has been exhibited and reproduced many times, first presented by the author in 1930 in Venice, and ten years later included in his exhibition at the Municipal House. In 1963, it was part of his retrospective in Prague, Brno, and Bratislava. Zrzavý's auction record is 10.5 million, which was the price for which the painting Mountainous Landscape was sold in 2009. With the fee, the buyer paid 12.4 million crowns.
    There was great interest in four colored lithographs by Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) titled The Four Seasons - Morning, Noon, Evening, Night. From the original 90,000 crowns, their price increased more than fourfold and reached 410,000 crowns. "There was also interest in four works by Group 42 member František Hudeček, whose starting prices increased up to seven times," Rybář told ČTK.
    A curiosity, according to him, is the oil painting by actor and painter Josef Hlinomaz (1914-1978) titled Poultry Chess. In this case, the starting price increased tenfold and reached 270,000 crowns (excluding the auction fee).