Jindřich Štyrský (11 August 1899, Čermná u Kyšperka – 21 March 1942,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

) 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' Places * Czech, ...

Surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

painter,

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

, editor,

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

, and graphic artist. His outstanding and varied oeuvre included numerous book covers and illustrations. He also wrote studies of both

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...

and Marquis de Sade. Along with his artistic partner

Toyen Toyen (born Marie Čermínová; 21 September 1902 – 9 November 1980), was a Czech painter, drafter, and illustrator and a member of the surrealist movement. In 1923, the artist adopted the professional pseudonym Toyen. The name Toyen has b ...

(Marie Čermínová), he became a member of '' Devětsil'' in 1923, participating in their group exhibitions. He and Toyen also exhibited in Paris in the late 1920s, where they founded their own movement, Artificialism. Between 1928 and 1929 he was designer for the group's drama wing, the '' Osvobozené divadlo'', where he collaborated with

Vítězslav Nezval Vítězslav Nezval (; 26 May 1900 – 6 April 1958) was a Czech poet, writer and translator. He was one of the most prolific avant-garde Czech writers in the first half of the 20th century and a co-founder of the Surrealist movement in Czechos ...

and others. Štyrský was also an active editor. In addition to his ''Edition 69'' series, he edited the ''Erotická revue'', which he launched in 1930, and ''Odeon'', where many of his shorter texts appeared. He was a founding member of The

Group of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Important Works

''Emilie comes to me in a dream'', 1931, published as part of his
Edition 69
' series. ''On the Needles of the Days'', 1941, photographic series in collaboration with Jindřich Heisler who provided the text.

Life

Born in Lower Čermná, where he spent his childhood. The death of his half-sister in 1905, with whom he had a very strong relationship, greatly affected his later life and artistic creation. He studied first in Hradec Kralove, then the Prague Academy of Fine Arts. He was very active in the art world, was a member of Devětsil beginning in 1923, and in the years 1932 - 1942 was a member of the Fine Artists Association. His early artistic work was partly under the influence of Cubism, but he later became a surrealist. During the summer in 1922, he met Marie Čermínová (1902–1980), who later began using the pseudonym

. They worked closely as an artistic pair. In Prague in 1923, they became members of the Devětsil group. Later, in Paris, they established their own two-person movement, Artificialism, which their associate Karel Teige linked to his own Poetism. After returning to Prague he became designer for the Liberated Theatre. In 1934, with Toyen, Bohuslav Brouk, Vitezslav Nezval, and others, he co-founded the Surrealist Group of Czechoslovakia in Prague. At the invitation of the Parisian Surrealists in 1935 he returned again to Paris. There Styrsky became seriously ill, probably the same heart condition as his sister. He recovered during his stay, though only temporarily. He died in 1942 in Prague of pneumonia.

External links

Short biography
(free use)

(in English)

(in English)

(essay about Štyrský in ''irreal (re)views'')

{{DEFAULTSORT:Styrsky, Jindrich 1899 births 1942 deaths Czech male writers Czech photographers Czech surrealist artists 20th-century Czech painters Czech male painters People from Ústí nad Orlicí District Deaths from pneumonia in Czechoslovakia Deaths from pneumonia in the Czech Republic 20th-century Czech male artists