2019

JOSEF PORTMAN (1893-1968). A REGIONAL PERSONALITY WITH EUROPEAN OVERLAP

Grant Agency CR project, reg. No.: 16-05789S
Grant holder: Museum of Czech Literature
Project researcher: V. Hubáčková
Time span: from 2016 to 2019

The project aims to research, to professionally process and to digitize the fond of Josef Portman, whose major part lies in the MCL Art Collections Department. The project will reveal the history of Josef Portman’s collection in the context of the Karásek Gallery. The life of and work by Josef Portman, a printer, a bibliophile and a collector will be completely interpreted in a social cultural context with the use of the latest art historical methods while basing on research into the complete fond in the art collections and selected material held in the Literary Archive Department and the Library Department. The essential portion of the research is devoted to his collections, or to indicate his relationships with both domestic and foreign artists. Portman worked with numerous Czech visual artists, such as: Zdenka Braunerová, Josef Váchal, Jan Konůpek, Milada Marešová, Karel Svolinský, Antoním Strnadel, Václav Mašek, Helena Šindelářová-Žváčková; among his favourite writers were Otokar Březina, Miloš Marten and Jaroslav Durych. His effort to overstep the boundary of domestic environment and to establish contacts with the world’s culture is reflected in his choice of literary themes and artists of art decoration in prints. He was among the first publishers to issue texts by Franz Kafka in our country, and had got them decorated by an equal creator: the famous German graphic artist, Albert Schamoni. However, Portman would search for more visual artists from abroad, such as Georg Rouault, George Grosz, or others who would work with him on his prints. No independent study has been carried out on this subject yet. What also remains insufficiently discovered and not theoretically assessed is Portman’s collecting activities. The project will focus on these subjects and will ground on a thorough research on primary and secondary sources from the MCL Portman’s Fond, from the Litomyšl Town Gallery, the Regional Museum in Litomyšl and some state regional archives and private collections. The research is expected to reveal all aspects of Portman’s multilateral personality, and the facts will be published in a collective monograph Josef Portman (1893-1968). On the Boundary of Bibliomania. The greatest collection items will be added to the Registry of Visual Arts Collections and on special Web portals.