The history of umbrellas is connected to the sun – they were first used as protection from the sun’s rays, i.e. parasols, as early as 4,000 years ago in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and China. At that time, they were also a symbol of social status, as their primary users were high-ranking members of society. It was probably the Chinese who invented the first umbrellas – by waxing and varnishing paper parasols. In Europe, they only gained popularity in the 16th century, mainly as a women’s fashion accessory. The use of umbrellas by the male population in the 18th century was due to the English traveler Jonas Hanway, who used this rain aid his entire life, thereby inspiring many of his peers.

Umbrellas are also in the gallery's collections. Their author is the painter and graphic artist Jan Smetana (1918–1998). He grew up in an environment influenced by his parents' scientific and musical interests. Jan Smetana's father was a prominent hydrologist, Smetana captured memories of his father's laboratory in paintings from the 1980s, and his interest in science has long been evident in his work. His mother graduated from the conservatory and probably stimulated Smetana's interest in music, which inspired his work. In 1942–1948, Jan Smetana was a member of Group 42, later also of the Umělecká beseda group and the Hollar Graphic Artists' Association, and from 1958 of Group 58. In the early days of his work, he was mainly devoted to civilian painting of the Prague peripheries, entirely in the spirit of the poetics of Group 42. He had his first solo exhibition in 1948 in the Topič Salon in Prague. Later, from the end of the sixties, he exhibited in our country and abroad (Denmark, USA, Switzerland, Sweden). From the beginning of the sixties, his work began to change, nature became the main inspiration. He often captured the environment of his own garden. The celebration of the modern world turned into a dynamic and representation of the variability of natural processes. The tendency to capture light phenomena also grew increasingly. His interest in light also manifested itself during his stay in Paris, when he captured, among other things, gas lamps. Jan Smetana's work was influenced by a trip to Indonesia (the islands of Bali, Java), India, Pakistan and Russia in the mid-fifties. He was allegedly inspired by the colors of these countries, but also by the changes in the landscape when viewed from an airplane. In the sixties, he also traveled to Algiers and Paris. Since 1967, Jan Smetana has taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, and his students include a number of prominent artists, such as Petr Veselý, Jan Jemelka and Vladimír Kokolia.

The text about Jan Smetana was prepared by Lenka Dolanová as part of the work of the month of April in 2019.

Jana Jarošová, February 10, 2025