Christmas has come early! An exhibition of the works of Josef Lada (15 November-3 February, Municipal House, Prague) With “a visual perspective ..praised by Picasso” this great Czech artist is a real treat. Josef is probably best known as the illustrator of Hašek’s The Good Soldier Švejk. Czech absinth drinkers might be interested in this note:
Charmed by Lipnice, then a community of 800 people, perched idyllically up on a hill with its 14th century castle slumped and crumbling above the gently winding Sázava River, Hašek entered merrily into village life. He enjoyed nothing more than treks through the surrounding farmland, woods and villages, or annoying the local women by dragging their menfolk to the pub, where he would stand to read completed sections of text to his audience, dictating new sections to a more sober writer. Sometimes he would simply play cards, albeit for sums of money way beyond his means. He drank copiously at the bar, chasing the locally produced beer, Lipnicée Lezák, with rum, slivovice and kontušovka; an aniseed based liquor, similar to absinthe. At the end of the evening, the wild writer had only a couple of flights of stairs to negotiate before bed.
The Czech absinth drinkers at L’Absinthe Rend Fou voted this our favourite absinthe film.
We watched a whole selection on a chilly grey Prague afternoon when the bar was “Dnes zavřeno – Soukromá akce”. The brands on offer at our event were Toulouse Lautrec, Doubs Mystique, Reality Absinth, La Fee Bohemian and, of course, my favourite Century Absinth 100.
The latest piece of absinthe art from Leif Rogers. This piece is provisionally called “Night with Absinthe” – and our readers have further been given the chance to suggest an alternative name, in the comments section below, before the paint even dries! The original of one of Leif’s earlier works has already been snapped up by a well known absinthe house for their private gallery. Absinthe has long been the muse of art, and we are happy to see that the Green Fairy (La Fee Verte) is once again weaving her magic, after many years of enforced absence. Absinthe is back and it’s time to pour a glass, relax, shut out the troubles of the modern world, and say hello to that mischievous green lady from the past.
The original is available via Leif Rogers – and we understand that he will also produce a limited edition of signed prints. Watch out for his “Absinthe Collection – Fall 2007″ which will also include “Absinthe Dreams” – currently sold out – and his original “Absinthe” in a strictly limited edition of 100 high quality prints signed by the artist.
The drawing is also discussed here. It works well against the white background. Great drawing – love the sense of motion – and two green fairies from one bottle of absinthe! or are we seeing double? More please – perhaps one featuring your favourite, Leif?
Update: Leif Rogers is displaying his works at the 22nd annual Bucktown Arts Fest (Stand 065) this weekend, August 25th – 26th. If you are in the Chicago area take a look at the website for directions.
A new exhibition of the work of Czech Cubist master Emil Filla is due to open at Prague Castle Riding School. Whether or not his Still Life with Absinthe & Fan (1914) will be exhibited remains to be seen. I have never seen it, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
In the meantime absinthe art lovers migh care to look at this beautiful modern piece, painted by the author of an interesting new absinthe blog:
Whenever I can get hold of it, I drink the ever so...
Hard to get and pricey, but definitely worth it. Not only does Century contain a massive amount of the all-important thujone, it is also one of the best-tasting absinthes I have ever had - a rare combination!
My rating:
On the web: centuaryabsinthe.com
I really like this one! Much more affordable than Century, my all-time favourite, but still very, very good. Maktub is the party spirit from the jazz age with a clean, fresh taste and plenty of buzz. Recommended.
My rating:
On the web: absinthe.in
Perhaps the only fault of Doubs Mystique is its relatively low thujone content -- so don't expect to dance with the Fairy :-) But if you drink absinthe for the taste alone, you will not be disappointed.
My rating:
On the web: absintheclassics.com
I confess. Yes, Absinthium 1792 is a rather cheap, artificially coloured oil mix, but I still like the taste and do drink it from time to time. Louches nicely, which is not at all usual for an absinthe of this class.
My rating:
On the web: trul.cz
