Illustration for the cover of Božena Němcová's Slovak Tales
Beginning in the 1840s, interest in ethnographic studies was driven by the desire to find specific national features persisting in the rural folk environment. Slovakia, which, due to its remoteness, retained a more traditional way of life, also attracted attention. The idea of the rugged mountain man became a prefigurement of the universal figure of the national hero. This is how Mánes conceived the cover of Slovak Tales. Slovak highlanders in stylised poses personify the theme of "telling and listening". The ancient poetry of the Slavic singers is here transformed into folklore, legends and fairy tales through oral transmission.
| Subject: | The 19th Century in Us |
| Author: | Mánes, Josef |
| Title: | Illustration for the cover of Božena Němcová's Slovak Tales |
| Date: | 1857 |
| Place of publication: | Prague |
| Publisher: | J. Šálek |
| Origin: | Božena Němcová Collection |
| Licence: | Free license |
