« Oskar Kokoschkas Bekenntnis zur Tschechoslowakei »

The point of departure for the discussion of Oskar Kokoschka’s connection to Czechoslovakia is the portrait of the first president of the Czechoslovak Republic, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk which Kokoschka embarked on in June 1935 at the presidential residence of Lány. In his portrayal of the elderly head of state, Kokoschka adopted a concept of national history first developed by historians such as František Palacký in the 19th century during the period of the Czech National Revival, and later elaborated by Masaryk himself. In his book ‘World Revolution’, the Czechoslovak president outlined a genealogy of seminal Czech thinkers, beginning with Jan Hus and leading through the spiritual founders of the Unity of Czech Brethren, Petr Chelčický and Jan Amos Komenský.