Náznaky avantgardního umění a využití moderního písma v tiscích Josefa Portmana
Traces of Avant-garde Art and the Use of Modern Typefaces in the Prints of Josef Portman

Summary/Abstract: The paper deals with the traces of avant-garde art and the use of modern typefaces in the prints of Josef Portman. While the avant-garde tendencies of the period appear only in fragments in the bibliographic material published by Portman, and related only to a short period of time (the 1930s), the use of modern print typefaces was a typical characteristic for almost the entire period of his printing activity (1922–1955). The study is intended as an accompaniment to the collective monograph Josef Portman (1893–1968). Na pomezí bibliománie (Josef Portman /1893–1968/. On the Boundary of Bibliomania, 2018). It follows only certain selected aspects, some of which are less widely known. Nevertheless, these are important in helping create an overall picture of Portman’s private printing and publishing activities. The focus of the study is the period of the 1930s and 1940s, when these elements were most prevalent in his prints. This relates primarily to the use of typefaces designed or modified by the pioneering figures of modern Czech typography Vojtěch Preissig and Oldřich Menhart. In the field of illustration, it examines the form and results of Portman’s collaboration with Josef Čapek and Václav Špála. At the same time, attention is drawn to the distinctive features of editions that form part of the Portman Fond of the Art Collections of the Museum of Czech Literature. For further clarity, there is a list of selected prints at the end, which is directly connected to the relevant thematic areas.

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