Karel HAVLICEK [German] (1907-1988) Esop, 1952 Black pencil on paper. Signed and dated lower right. 43.5 x 30 cm Provenance : Collection Jean-Jacques Plaisance, Galerie Les Yeux Fertiles, Paris. Originally a lawyer, Karel Havlicek had to give up his profession for political reasons and became a laborer. One day, while walking down the street, he stopped and looked up at the sky, then said to his wife: "From now on, I'm going to make one drawing a day to thank life". He works only in the evening, following a ritualistic protocol reminiscent of the conditioning of automatic practices. In 1948, art critic Karel Teige considered organizing an exhibition for him, a project that was crushed by the political authorities. This event had a profound effect on him.