The Poetic Realism of Jaroslav Čermák Jaroslav Čermák, a name perhaps less immediately recognizable than some of his contemporaries, nevertheless occupies a significant and deeply affecting space within the landscape of 20th-century Czech painting. Born in 1896, his life unfolded against a backdrop of immense political and social upheaval – from the waning days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire through two World Wars, the establishment and subsequent suppression of democratic ideals in Czechoslovakia, and decades under communist rule. This tumultuous context profoundly shaped not only Čermák’s…