Number 4

the First World War (1914 – 1918)

Volunteers for the front in the First World War

He served as a volunteer although he was at least 25 years older than the rest of the regiment; Blaise Cendrars, in “La Main coupée”, describes him as a proud, calm, strong soldier. When the regiment set out on foot from Paris for the front in Picardy, his wife met the column at the La Défense roundabout and marched with it, carrying his bag and rifle, until the colonel had her arrested and sent back to Paris; she later made her way to the front lines to spend time with her husband.

the First World War (1914 – 1918)

Frostbitten foot: he leaves the front

He left the front because of frostbite in his foot, caused by nights in trenches waist-deep in freezing water.

1919

Becomes a professor at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts

He became a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, teaching students who were on placement in Paris.

1919–1938

Patron Jindřich Waldes

He was financially supported by his good friend, the art collector and industrialist Jindřich Waldes, who accumulated a substantial collection of his art.