Jiří Kovařík - Black Cat (1977)

• Title: Black Cat
• Artist: Jiří Kovařík (1932-1994)
• Date: 1977
• Made in: current day Czechia
• Medium: Oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 89 x 120 cm
• Location: unknown
• Photo credit: Stepan kovarik on Wikimedia in 2012

"Black Cat" shows two nude female figures lying on a rich, draped fabric** that alternates between deep, velvety blacks and vibrant pinks or reds, producing a lush, textured ground that contrasts with the smoothness of the bodies, one with lighter skin and the other with a darker, almost green-blue tonal quality.

The women seem to be day-dreaming as they are lying down, but it's hard to make out the mood: while the darker-skinned woman is smiling and turned towards her partner, the lighter-skinned woman's face is more neutral and closed and looking elsewhere.

Behind the figures, the architectural elements—columns and a minimal, almost abstracted background—evoke an ambiguous, timeless environment that feels both classical and dreamlike. The black cat, perched aloofly on a platform at the right edge, introduces a subtle but potent symbolic presence. Its silhouette and luminous gaze add an air of mystery and latent tension, suggesting inner awakening, feminine energy, and vigilance.

The painting fluctuates between dream and reality: its precise figurative rendering anchors the viewer in the sensual presence of the bodies, yet the surreal juxtaposition of elements—the stillness of the cat, the stylized space, and the potent color contrasts—imbue the scene with psychological depth and symbolic resonance typical of Kovařík’s work.

• Auctioned by Galerie KODL in Prag (Czechia): Jiří Kovařík - Black Cat