Josef Váchal

Josef Váchal (1884-1969) was a Czech printmaker, graphic designer, writer, painter, wood carver and bookbinder.

"He published books using hand-made paper in print runs of one to twenty books. Apart from books he also worked at free-hand drawing, especially coloured woodcuts, painting, decorations for ceramics and woodcarvings for furniture. The ideas behind his writing and creative work oscillate between deep and informed respect to baroque book production, shopkeepers' poems and folk 'bloody' novels of the 18th and 19th centuries, and an interest in oriental religions and philosophy, theology and demonology."

Váchal was friends with another printer, Josef Portman from Litomyšl who commissioned Váchal to paint murals in Portman's house. Despite Váchal being hounded for his anti-communist beliefs, the house was saved and restored as the Váchal Museum and is referred to as Portmoneum.

• Most of the images here come from the Czech Gallerieart site and thanks to RaShOmoN for posting about it.
• A couple of the above woodcuts were taken from the Josef Váchal website - it's in Czech but there are examples here of some of his other works - paintings, handpainted books and the like.
• These sites display photographs of the inside of the amazing Portmoneum.