Reynkovi - drawings, graphics, poems, photographs

21.10.2022 - 15.1.2023

Reynkovi…. /Drawings, graphics, poems, photographs

21. 10. 2022 – 15. 1. 2023, opening 20. 10. 2022 from 5 PM

The exhibition Reynkovi…./Drawings, graphics, poems, photographs at the Regional Museum and Gallery in Most presents a glimpse into the artistic environment of the Reynek family and the chateau in Petrkov in the Vysočina region, where Bohuslav Reynek was born and lived almost his entire life with his family. The exhibition is also complemented by photographs directly from Petrkov, which, thanks to their creators Daniel Reynek, Jiří Škoch, Dagmar Hochová, and František Nárovec, capture the unique atmosphere of this distinctive artistic place. The poetic work of Bohuslav Reynek's wife Suzanne Renaud is also remembered, along with translations of literature by Jiří Reynek, and several photographs by Michael Reynek are exhibited. This year marks the 130th anniversary of Bohuslav Reynek's birth, making this exhibition a tribute to this poet, translator, and graphic artist.

Bohuslav Reynek

Bohuslav Reynek was born on May 31, 1892, in Petrkov near today's Havlíčkův Brod. Although he performed well in school, he did not particularly like school duties. For the education of their only son, his parents moved to Jihlava, where Bohuslav Reynek began studying at a German real gymnasium and where he also received excellent language training, especially in German and French. A significant influence on him was a classmate – painter Jaroslav Libra and teacher Max Eisler, who inspired him to start painting and drawing. From 1912, he began writing his first poems, and during this time, his long-term collaboration with the publishing house of Josef Florian from Stará Říše began. In 1914, at his parents' request, he became a student of the agricultural field at the Czech Technical University in Prague, but after a few weeks, he dropped out and returned to Petrkov. There, he focused mainly on translating from French and his own poetic creation.

In 1923, he translated the poetic debut of the French poetess Suzanne Renaud, who captivated him so much that he visited her in Grenoble. After six months of courtship, he married her in 1926. In the vicinity of Grenoble, Reynek also drew a lot, mainly the surrounding landscape. The couple alternated their stays in France, where their sons Daniel and Jiří were born a year apart, and in Petrkov. After his father's death in 1936, Bohuslav Reynek permanently returned with his family to Petrkov. In 1944, Reynek was expelled from his own estate and chateau by the Germans, which they returned to only after the war. During the war, several graphic cycles were created, such as Pastorale, Snow, or the Passion Cycle. On October 1, 1949, the chateau with the adjacent estate was nationalized, and only due to an administrative error was the family not evicted. As a poet, he remained silent for a long time, but between 1955 and 1960, dozens of graphic sheets were created in deep isolation and solitude, the most significant of which is the cycle of 14 graphic sheets Don Quijote, along with numerous graphics with sacred themes. He lived for many years in the internal exile of a Catholic poet and artist without the opportunity to exhibit. His first solo exhibition in Czechoslovakia was held only in 1964 after the death of his wife Suzanne Renaud. Since December 2009, the chateau in Petrkov has been protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. In 2020, it came under the administration of the Memorial of National Literature. https://pamatniknarodnihopisemnictvi.cz/o-rodine-reynkovych/

Bohuslav Reynek was a very hardworking artist. His literary work includes 11 of his own poetry collections, more than 70 translations, and hundreds of other texts. His visual work is also extraordinarily rich. Today, approximately 10 paintings, 200 drawings, 40 linocuts, 600 drypoints and etchings, and 30 cliché verre are known from Reynek's works. Some works are missing. In recent years, František Nárovec has photographically documented the entire extensive visual work in its possible completeness, and he is also the author of the exhibition in Most.

For the exhibition, it was possible to borrow 26 original prints by Bohuslav Reynek from selected galleries. The exhibition will also feature a screening of the film "Kluci" by director Tereza Brázdová.

Exhibition author: František Nárovec

Exhibition curator: Olga Kubelková

Graphics and photographs: Bohuslav Reynek, Daniel Reynek and heirs, Dagmar Hochová, Jiří Škoch and heirs, František Nárovec

Graphic design: Anna Doubravová

Regional Museum and Gallery in Most, Čsl. armády 1360/35, Most

Open daily except Monday from 12:00 to 18:00, Sat – Sun from 10:00 to 18:00

Admission: 30 CZK full (adults) /15 CZK reduced (students and seniors)