Josef Cestmir Svoboda (1889-1953), Orientalist Nude, Algerian Woman

Josef Cestmir SVOBODA (1889–1953)
Portrait of an Algerian Woman Nude
Oil on panel.
Signed lower right.
H 70 cm, L 50 cm
Very good condition.

A Czech painter born in Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad), Josef Svoboda studied painting under Emanuele Čihák and graphic arts with Alexander de Pian. Author of a varied oeuvre comprising portraits and landscapes, he undertook numerous journeys across Italy, Yugoslavia, and France, but found particular inspiration during his stays in North Africa and Turkey. His Orientalist compositions, often depicting female figures in the warm light of the Mediterranean basin, belong to the sensibility of the European Orientalist movement between the wars.

This oil on panel depicting an Orientalist nude by Josef Svoboda testifies to the attraction of Central European artists for North Africa, uniting the sensuality of the figure with the richness of Oriental light.