The directory «Artists»

Šimon Tavik Frantisek
(1877-1942)

A major Czech painter, etcher and woodcut artist Tavik Frantisek Simon studied art at the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague. Earning a stipend from this institution, Simon traveled to Italy, Belgium, England and France. His first one man exhibition took place in Prague in 1905. In the following year Simon's art was the subject of another exhibition in Paris. By 1920 Simon's international reputation was firmly established with exhibitions in Chicago and New York.
Tavik Frantisek Simon primarily made his reputation as a leading artist of the color etching. Woodcuts and wood engravings, however, also played a large role, particularly in smaller works of art and in ex-libris plates. An examination of his fine oeuvre indicates that where his etchings emphasized delicate colors and impressionistic tones, the woodcuts often examined elements of strong design and tonal values. In both mediums, T. F. Simon clearly excelled.
During his career T. F. Simon lived and worked in both Paris and Prague. He also traveled extensively and etched and engraved views of New York, London, Prague, Holland, Spain, Morocco, Ceylon, India and Japan. Tavik Frantisek Simon was a professor of art at the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague, and a founding member (1917) and later chairman of the influential Hollar Association of Czech Graphic Artists.

Czech Republic, 1997, Parisien Booksellers