František Hudeček (1909–1990) ranks among the most important representatives of Czech modern art of the 20th century. He was a painter, graphic artist and illustrator and, above all, one of the founding members of Group 42. His work is characterised by a fascination with the modern city, nocturnal landscapes, the solitary human figure and the relationship between man and the environment of modern civilisation. The Night Walker became one of the defining motifs of his oeuvre, recurring in various forms in his drawings, prints and paintings. Hudeček combined surrealist imagination, geometric stylisation of the figure and the civilist poetics of Group 42 into a highly distinctive artistic language. The striking figurative work Robot dates from 1946, one of the most important periods of the artist’s career. The monumental figure stands within a geometrically constructed nocturnal urban space punctuated by glowing yellow windows and a deep blue sky. The human figure is transformed into a complex organism composed of lines, geometric fields, circles, grids and structures reminiscent of technical mechanisms. The recurring eye motif on the head, shoulder, hands and legs gives the composition a strong symbolic and surreal dimension. Hudeček combines man, technology, the city and the cosmos into a single pictorial organism. The work convincingly develops his fundamental theme of the solitary figure within the modern urban environment, explored during the 1940s in connection with Group 42. The figure appears simultaneously human, mechanical and fantastical, embodying the characteristic tension between the alienation of modern man and his connection with the surrounding world. Precise geometric drawing contrasts with subdued blue-green tones and sharp accents of illuminated windows. The painting is signed and dated lower left “Fr. Hudeček 46”. An older inscription on the reverse refers to the artist, the title Robot and the oil technique. The work is presented in its original wooden frame and comes from a private Prague collection. CURATOR’S TIP: An exceptionally attractive work by Hudeček from the key year 1946, concentrating the characteristic themes of his 1940s oeuvre – man, the city, technological civilisation, geometry and the mystery of nocturnal space. Its substantial format, oil technique, original frame and exceptionally distinctive figurative motif make Robot one of the notable lots of the auction. FOR INVESTORS: František Hudeček is one of the key representatives of Group 42, and his works from the 1940s constitute a particularly significant and collectible part of his oeuvre. This work combines the important date of 1946, oil technique, a substantial format, signature and dating, and a highly representative subject.