Vojtěch Hynais / PoetryVojtěch Hynais was a proponent of historicism with elements of decorativism, and allegory and parable featured most prominently in his oeuvre. This is is evident in the canvas entitled Poetry, originally painted for the Villa Leclerc in Paris. It is a painting of monumental proportions, measuring 220 × 108.5 cm, and was one of the artist’s allegorical paintings from the end of the 19th century. It aimed to dominate and engulf the space in which it was placed. The picture’s leitmotiv is a female figure depicted in unnatural S-shaped motion, the effect and symbolism of which overcomes credibility. It was painted entirely in the studio and the background landscape was painted in afterwards. Thus it is a symbolic not a realistic landscape, in which the winged allegory of Poetry shares a lyre, the symbol of poetry and music, with a winged amoretto. It is similar to the works that Hynais painted for the National Theatre and National Museum in Prague, or for the Court Theatre in Vienna.