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Alén Diviš (26 April 190015 November 1956) 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 ...
painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
known for his
melancholic Melancholia or melancholy (from ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval, and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly depressed mood, bodily complain ...
art. Having spent much of his life abroad, often working in solitude, he remained rather unknown during his life but has had a postmortem revival in the art world.


Early life and career

Diviš was born in Blato u
Poděbrady Poděbrady (; ) is a spa town in Nymburk District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Elbe River. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument ...
but in 1911, his family moved to
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. It was there that Diviš first received painting lessons, briefly attending the College of Applied Arts. In his early 20s, Diviš became intensely focused on art, particularly with the
cubist 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 ...
movement. In the summer of 1926, he moved to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
to devote himself fully to his art. There he attended lectures by
František Kupka František Kupka (23 September 1871 – 24 June 1957), also known as ''Frank Kupka'' or ''François Kupka,'' was a Czech painter and graphic artist A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, eit ...
and explored cubism,
expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
, and
classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...
. He made new friends in the French artistic community and maintained friendships with other Czechs there, such as composer
Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphony, symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber music, chamber, vocal and ins ...
. He began to travel further abroad, making trips to
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
and the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. The first exhibition of his work took place in 1932 at Van Leer gallery.


Imprisonment

In 1939, in reaction to the
German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, Diviš became increasingly political and, with other
expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...
s, formed the House of Czechoslovak Culture. Upon France's entry into the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Diviš and other members of the organization were arrested and charged with
espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...
. The reason for the arrests is unclear; perhaps their "sympathies for communism" caused suspicion, or it may have been their uncommonly celebratory reaction to the outbreak of war (which they hoped would lead to the liberation of Czechoslovakia). Whatever the reason, Diviš would spend the next six months in
La Santé Prison La Santé Prison (named after its location on the Rue de la Santé) ( or ) is a prison operated by the French Prison Service of the Ministry of Justice (France), Ministry of Justice located in the east of the Montparnasse district of the 14th arr ...
, one of France's toughest. The sombre mood and the inscriptions and graffiti on the cell walls would inspire his later artistic vision. The charges of espionage were dropped, but Diviš would spend another year and a half in concentration and
internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...
camps in France,
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
, and
Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
before his eventual release.


New York

In the early 1940s, Diviš finally found asylum in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
where he continued his work until after the war. His art focused primarily on his time in prison, and used images of
cell Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life * Cellphone, a phone connected to a cellular network * Clandestine cell, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization * Electrochemical cell, a de ...
wall graffiti, dreams and dark hallucinations that came with isolation – a style which would later be termed ''Art Brut'' or
Outsider Art Outsider art is Fine art, art made by Autodidacticism, self-taught individuals who are untrained and untutored in the traditional arts with typically little or no contact with the Convention (norm), conventions of the art worlds. The term ''ou ...
. He worked on parallel sets of painting, and also landscapes of South Africa, where he had travelled before the war. While in the United States, Diviš established links with the local Czech community and was reunited with his friend Martinů. Although his work gained some attention in New York, he was unable to arrange an exhibition of his work.


Return to Czechoslovakia

In 1947, after the end of the Second War and the liberation of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, Diviš returned to his native country, more than two decades after he had first left for Paris. Upon his return, he achieved a brief period of success. His written memoirs of Santé were published in a weekly paper, and in February 1948, his recent work was exhibited in Prague. The same month, however, brought the Communist coup d'état which would marginalize artists of his type out of work. He spent the rest of the decade producing illustrations for
Karel Jaromír Erben Karel Jaromír Erben (; 7 November 1811 – 21 November 1870) was a Czech folklorist and poet of the mid-19th century, best known for his collection '' Kytice'', which contains poems based on traditional and folkloric themes. He also wrote ''Pí ...
's mid-19th century collection of ballads "
Kytice ''Kytice z pověstí národních'' (''A Bouquet of Folk Legends''), also known by the short title ''Kytice'' ( Czech for '' bouquet''), is a collection of ballads by the Czech author Karel Jaromír Erben. The collection was first published in 18 ...
", but only "''Svatební košile''" (Wedding Shirt) was published (in 1952). He also produced a series of illustrations for short stories by
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...
. In the 1950s, under the harsh conditions of communism in Czechoslovakia, Diviš gave up seeking exposure for his work and focused on spiritual images, such as Christ's crucifixion and
bible stories The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...
, unlikely to be published By the time of his death, he and his art were almost entirely forgotten. Only his friends, such as
sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
Hedvika Zaorálková, remembered him and preserved his work, which was rediscovered in the 1980s.


References


Further reading

*Skálová, Vanda: ''Alén Diviš (1900–1956)''. Nadace Karla Svolinského a Vlasty Kubátové 2005.


External links


Biographical Article on DivisAlén Diviš in the IS abART
{{DEFAULTSORT:Divis, Alen Outsider artists 1900 births 1956 deaths 20th-century Czech painters Czech male painters 20th-century Czech male artists