Jan Matulka (1890-1972)
Slovakian Village, Turi-Pole
oil on canvas
23 7/8 x 29 5/8 in. (60.6 x 75.3 cm.)
Painted in 1921.
Footnotes:
Provenance
Estate of the artist.
Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York.
John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco.
Shaklee Corporation, San Francisco, acquired from the above, 1983.
Yamanouchi Pharma Technologies, Inc., Norman, Oklahoma, acquired from the above via merger, 1989.
Private collection, acquired from the above, 2005.

Between 1920-25, Jan Matulka and his wife, Ludmila 'Lída' (neé Jiroušková) Matulka spent the majority of their time in Europe, splitting their time between Matulka's studio in Paris and visits to Czechoslovakia during the summers. In 1921, Matulka and his wife were inspired to visit the village of Turi Pole in Slovakia after their friend and artist, Bǒzka Nevolová, showed them a photo of the small village. The journey to Turi Pole was difficult at the time and was a village not known for being very hospitable to outsiders. With no accommodations available for visitors, the Matulkas were fortunate enough to have a letter of recommendation from a Bishop persuaded the local parish priest to help them obtain food and lodging during their visit. (S. Patterson, Jan Matulka 1890-1972, Washington, D.C., 1980, p. 16) The present work is one of several oils, watercolors, and a woodcut that Matulka completed while in Turi Pole.