Josef Vacke

Josef Vacke (18 July 1907 – 18 December 1987), born Josef Watzke, was a Czech artist and painter. Writer Vladimir Watzke and painter Josef Vacek were brothers. Both were the children of Karel Watzke and Anna Zyka ("Zyka" was a pseudonym that Vladimir used as his most common pseudonym). They had 3 children; Vladimir Watzke was born in 1900, Karel Watzke was born in 1902 and Josef Watzke (Vacke) was born in 1907. Vladimir Watzke was a very prolific writer of Czech fiction books, primarily fantasy and science fiction, who was highly popular in his time (thirties and forties).

Josef Vacke was born during the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, into a family that identified as Czech, but was of German extraction on the paternal side. His parents changed the spelling of the family name from the German orthography "Watzke" to the Czech orthography "Vacke" (identically pronounced), as an open expression of Czech patriotism.

For several years, he taught painting at the Ebert school, where he led the painter Antonín Porket. Between 1923 and 1924 he studied at a private school at Ferdinand Engelmüler, and from 1925–1931 at the Academy of Fine Arts in the Landscape special show of Professor Otakar Nejedlý in Prague.

His first study tour was undertaken in 1925 in Cagnes-sur-Mer, and then another trip to Cap d'Agnes (1926), Corsica (1928), and Ponte du Suve at Toulon (1930). To this can be added the Nejedly school stay, in Jílové nad Sazavou to Mala Skala with Turnova on deep,at Rough Rock in Vlastislav in Central . In 1928 Vacke received a scholarship to travel to Paris, under the renowned professor Antonína Matějíčka . In 1931 and 1935 Vacke painted with Lucie Klimova in Yugoslavia. He also stayed in Zděchov, where his benefactor for his painting, was Ludvík Klímek for whom he painted in 1943 in Zděchov four watercolors .

During World War II, he often stayed on the Sázava and in the Highlands. After 1946, when gaining a cottage No. 91, Krizan , there are increasingly appearing in his works paintings of Podještědí . Lucie Klímová since 1946, moved to Křižany, where she spent months in a cottage with Vacek. When Lucie Klímová died in 1961, his partner was Boženka Škodová. Josef Vacke often stayed and painted also at Velenicicích on Podebradska , whence came his mate Boženka Škodová.

From 1935 he was a member of the Club of Visual Artists "Aleš" . He most often painted landscapes and flowers, including bouquets . Occasionally, one sees in his paintings, figurative motifs.

• 1925: Nezabudice
• 1926: Evening at the Cap d'Antibes
• 1927: In Polabi ( Brandys nad Labem ); Harvest in Nezabudice
• 1931: Korcula; Orebić; Pine forest at Rab (in Yugoslavia)
• 1933: Summer Landscape ( Nezabudice ); Autumn in Šárce
• 1937: Window; Czech Šternberk
• 1938: Podesta ( Nezabudice ); Field near the village ( Nezabudice ); Still Life with Melon; Harvest in Nezabudice
• 1939: The Virgin Mary at Nezabudice; Rusava; Strašínská peripherals
• 1940: Křižany
• 1943: Zděchov (3 watercolors)
• 1943: Corpus Christi in Zděchov
• 1952: Parties in Křižany
• 1954: Harvest in Podještědí
• 1956: Journey knádraži ( Křižany ); The cottages ( Křižany )
• 1958: Lucie Klímová at the cottage ( Křižany )

Overview exhibitions

• 1936: Prague gallery Blue Salon (together with Vaclav Trefil)
• 1938: Prague gallery Topic Salon – Paintings of Nezabudice
• 1941: Stone Ferry (together with Lucie Klimova)
• 1942: Rakovník Křivoklát (retrospective exhibition of paintings and Nezabudice routes)
• 1958: Prague, Purkyně gallery (paintings from the years 1931–1957)
• 1967: Castle Kačina in Kutna Hora (together with Franz Prosecký)
• 1968: Ohrada with Deep (collected exhibition Pictures from Podjestedi)
• 1977, Prague, New Hall Gallery (paintings from the years 1928–1976)
• 1978: Prerov, gallery Work
• 1978: Klášterec nad Ohri, Culture House Gallery (paintings from the years 1930–1977)
• 1981: Kladno
• 1983: Prague, Gallery U Recickych (selection of paintings from years 1925–1982)
• 1985: Mutějovice, in cooperation with Rabasova gallery
• 1987: Rakovník, Rabasova gallery

Posthumous exhibition

• 2003: Prague gallery Peithner
• 2011: Velenice , Poděbradský
• 2011: Rakovník, Rabasova gallery

• BARUCH, Joey; SOLAR, Josef : Fourteen new book marks of Jožko Baruch (= Collection Exlibris . Vol. 2). Graphic Arts, Prague 1941. OCLC 72421268

• Křička, Peter : White shield. The second book of poems . Kvasnička a Hampl, Praha 1944. OCLC 724911514