Group 42 () was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

artistic group officially established on November 27, 1942 (though its roots date to 1938–1939, forming in 1940). The group's activity ceased in 1948 (banned by the government at the time), but its influence on

Czech literature Czech literature can refer to literature written in Czech language, Czech, in the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia, earlier the Lands of the Bohemian Crown), or by Czech people. Most literature in the Czech Republic is now written in C ...

and Czech art was still evident in further years. This group was primarily influenced by civilism,

cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...

constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in the Soviet Union in t ...

existentialism Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...

, and

surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

, and their work revealed a characteristic fascination with technology, evident in their frequent focus on cities, factories, industry, and machines. The human characters are generally common townspeople. The article ''The World We Live In'' (

''Svět, v němž žijeme'') by Jindřich Chalupecký provided Group 42's primary theoretical foundation.

Members

Poets

Ivan Blatný Ivan Blatný (; 21 December 1919 in Brno, Czechoslovakia – 5 August 1990 in Colchester, United Kingdom) was a Czech poet and a member of '' Skupina 42 (Group 42). Life Blatný, the son of the writer Lev Blatný, was a member of the '' Skupina ...

*Jan Hanč *

Jiřina Hauková Jiřina Hauková (January 27, 1919, Přerov – December 15, 2005) was a Czech Republic, Czech poet and translator. She was a member of the Group 42 (Skupina 42), together with her husband Jindřich Chalupecký. Biography Having graduated from ...

Josef Kainar Josef Kainar (29 June 1917 in Přerov, Austria-Hungary – 16 November 1971 in Dobříš, Czechoslovakia) was a Czech poet, lyrics writer, dramatic author and translator, but also a musician, illustrator, artist and journalist. He was a membe ...

Jiří Kolář Jiří Kolář (24 September 1914, Protivín – 11 August 2002, Prague) was a Czech poet, writer, painter and translator. His work included both literary and visual art. Life Kolář was born in Protivín on September 29, 1914, in a work ...

(also a visual artist)

Painters

*František Gross *František Hudeček * Jan Kotík *

Kamil Lhoták Kamil Lhoták (25 July 1912 Prague – 22 October 1990, Prague) was a Czechs, Czech painter, graphic artist, and illustrator. He was one of the members of Group 42. Biography Kamil Lhoták was born on 25 July 1912 in Holešovice, Prague-Hole� ...

Bohumír Matal Bohumír Matal (13 February 1922 Brno – 7 July 1988 Prudká at Doubravník) was a Czech painter, one of the youngest members of Group 42. He was a significant celebrity in post-war painting in the 20th century in Brno. Life Bohumír Matal stu ...

*Jan Smetana *Karel Souček

Carver

Ladislav Zívr Ladislav Zívr (23 May 1909 – 4 September 1980) was a Czech sculptor. Zívr was born in Nová Paka and died in Ždírec (a hamlet in Levínská Olešnice), Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic). Because of family tradition he attended potter ...

Photographer

Miroslav Hák Miroslav Hák (9 May 1911, in Nová Paka, Bohemia – 29 June 1978, in Prague) was a Czechoslovak photographer. He was one of the members of Group 42. Miroslav Hak was one of the most outstanding figures in the history of Czech modern photography ...

Theoreticians

*Jindřich Chalupecký *

Jiří Kotalík Jiří Kotalík (22 July 1920 – 26 January 1996) was a Czech art historian and director of the National Gallery in Prague between 1967 and 1990. He was one of the members of Group 42 Group 42 () was a Czech Republic, Czech artistic group offic ...

References

*Eva Petrová (ed.) and collective: ''Skupina 42'', Akropolis, Praha 1998, *Zdeněk Pešat, Eva Petrová (ed.): ''Skupina 42'', Atlantis, Brno 2000, *Izabela Mroczek: ''Dom, ulica, miasto w poezji czeskiej Grupy 42'', Śląsk, Katowice-Warszawa, 2005 (Polish) *

Leszek Engelking Leszek Maria Engelking (2 February 1955 – 22 October 2022) was a Polish poet, short story writer, novelist, translator, literary critic, essayist, Polish philologist, and literary academic, scholar, and lecturer. Engelking translated a vast ...

: ''Codzienność i mit. Poetyka, programy i historia Grupy 42 w kontekstach dwudziestowiecznej awangardy i postawangardy'', Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, Łódź 2005, (Polish)

External links

Legendární Skupina 42
(Josef Fronc), Zpravodaj 2/2005 Czech literature Literary societies 1942 establishments in Czechoslovakia 1948 disestablishments in Czechoslovakia Arts organizations established in 1942 {{lit-org-stub