Jirí Kolár was one of the main proponents of modern collage art and one of the most famous Czech artist of the 20th century.
Initially, Kolár was a writer, but after a period of experimenting with concrete poetry and object poems, he almost inevitably arrived at the collage technique. The inspiration from this art form was such that he decided to devote himself solely to art. He developed new artistic techniques, such as Konfrontage, Chiasmage, Rollage or Ventilage, but he also created three-dimensional works, such as collaged objects and the knot- and object-poems. The present work is a rollage. To create it, Kolár cut two different images - in this case a Saint by Rembrandt van Rijn and "Claude Monet in his Studio Boat" by Édouard Manet - into equally wide strips, which he then alternated, creating a picture that irritates the eye.
His participation in documenta 4 in Kassel 1968 brought about his international breakthrough. In 1975 the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York presented a retrospective of his works.
