Josef Váchal

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Josef Váchal (September 23, 1884 in Milavče near Domažlice – May 10, 1969 in Studeňany) was a Czech writer, painter, graphic designer and book-printer.

Váchal was as an illegitimate son of Josef Aleš-Lyžec and Anna Váchalová - his parents were never married. He was brought up by his grandparents, Jan Aleš and Jana Alešová, in southern Bohemian town of Písek where he entered grammar school but left it prematurely. In 1898 Vachal moved to Prague, there he studied bookbinding and started a friendship with his father's cousin, painter Mikoláš Aleš.

In 1900 he wrote first poems, by 1903 he became member of Prague Theosophical Society, in 1904 he entered the Painter School and later became respected painter and graphic designer. In 1910 Váchal published his first two books. Between January 1912 and January 1913 he enjoyed short, but quite intensive friendship with writer Jakub Deml. In March 1913, Váchal married Máša Pešulová, and started friendship with collector J. Portman; his house Portmoneum is the Váchal Museum in Litomyšl.

From 1916 to 1918 Váchal served a soldier on Italian front. During 1940, expressing resistance against Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, he moved from Prague to the village of Studeňany ('tusculum' or 'exile'). After communist revolution of 1948 in Czechoslovakia, he became a banned author for his anticommunist views; also the house and property of his girlfriend in eastern Bohemia were confiscated. During this time he earned his only money by illegal distributing, because he was not member of official communist artist guild, of his older works of art. And being that he was not a guild member, he could not be an official artist which meant that he was unemployed, criminal offence under communism. In 1960s living in destitution; being hungry most days, drinking water made of snow, and sleeping with all of his clothes because of cold, he refused to allow the communists to prepare any exhibition of his works, although they tried to got him to collaborate with them. Váchal died in 1969 and was buried in small village of Radim near Jičín, eastern Bohemia.

[edit] Work (only main texts)

Krvavy roman [Bloody Novel] published 1924
Mor v Korcule [Plague in Korcula] (published 1927)
Malir na fronte. Soca a Italie 1917-18 [Painter in War. Soca and Italy 1917-18] (published 1929)
Sumava umirajici a romanticka [Gabreta dying and romantical] (published 1931, 11 copies)
Receptar barevneho drevorytu [Book of colored woodcut] (published 1934) - theoretical work on woodcut techniques
Nejnovejsi legatio mortuorum [Newest legatio mortuorum] (published 1936)
Kazani ad calendas graecas [Sermon ad calendas graecas] (published 1939, 17 copies)
Dablova odstredivka [Devil's Spin Drier] (published 1941, 10 copies)
Certova babicka [Imp's Grandma] (written 1940-1948)
Moudrost Svobodneho zednarstvi [Wisdom of Free-Masonry] (written 1951)
Robinson mohelnsky [Robinson of Mohelno] (written 1955)
Zivant a umrlanti [Living Man (=Vachal) and Zombies (=communists) of this world] (written 1956)
Carodejnice z Holesovic neboli Vezen v bolsevickem hrade [Witch of Holesovice or Prisoner in Bolsheviks's Castle] (written 1959)
Pameti [Memoirs] published 1994
Deniky 1922-1964 [Diaries] published 1998