Grey Horse - Antique Watercolour

Framed original watercolour signed by the Czech artist Emil Kotrba. The painting is signed and dated 1948 and is mounted in a simple gilt frame.

Emil Kotrba ( February 22, 1912 - February 21, 1983 ) was a Czech academic painter and graphic artist, and in the 1960's and 1970's he was a world-famous horse painter.

He was born into a family of Znojmo tanner and in 1927 he went to study at the School of Arts and Crafts by Petr Dillingra in Brno. In particular, he was interested in the construction of the animal's body. He participated as an extraordinary student of animal husbandry and anatomy of lectures of Professor Kolda from anatomy at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Brno where he met prof. MVDr. Karel Pardubský and prof. MVDr. Antonín Hruza . Professor Pardubský later financially supported him in further studies between 1931 and 1937 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague under Professor Tavík František Šimon .

Max Švabinský was became Kotrb's longtime advisor and from the 1930's until 1942 he worked as a professor at the Rotter School of Advertising in Prague where he taught figurative and general drawing.

He was an active rider, trainer and judge of equestrian competitions with contacts to stud farms, agricultural and breeding facilities and racecourses such as Kladruby nad Labem , Slatinany , Pecínov , Písek , Albertovci , Napajedla in Moravia.

He was inspired by the horse motif and created a world-unique collection documenting the 50-year period of Czech breeding. His work contains over 900 graphic sheets, often multicolored, a number of oils, gouaches, drawings, etchings and woodcuts. His best known graphic is "Burning Stable". He contributed three times to the creation of our postage stamps and 1956, a postage stamp was issued in the Sport series - The Great Pardubice Steeple-Chase.

He was a longtime illustrator of Naše chov magazine. He became the author of posters and invitations for events related to equestrian days, animal exhibitions and horse races. He exhibited for the first time in 1933 in Znojmo, very often exhibited in Prague . He had foreign exhibitions in Belgium , Spain , Vienna , Leipzig , Cannes , Padua , Vilnius and many other cities and countries and has won many awards

Dimensions - 42 cm x 35 cm