March 19, 2021 will mark the 130th birth anniversary of Josef Šíma (1891–1971), a painter who was endowed with admirable imagination through which, in his paintings, he captured the invisible that transcends human memory and reveals archetypal layers of the unconscious. In his visions, objects and landscapes lose their weight and levitate in free space. Šíma’s images speak to us through the language of our dreams. We may understand them only if we connect with our own imagination, feelings and intuition. Only then do they resonate in the depths of our soul.
Our brief remembrance of Šíma’s oeuvre is complemented by a pastel drawing dating from 1930 which, rather than portraying a specific setting, depicts the very essence of landscape. The scene seems to elude the law of gravity, and the infinitely blue sky is combined with the deep green colour of nature, creating a perfect symbiosis.
