You have probably seen this lady, the whole internet-using world has. Her name was Anežka Kašpárková and hers was a rare talent worth remembering.
An old lady patiently painting a chapel with blue folkloric ornaments. That’s how the world has seen Mrs. Kašpárková at the dawn of her life. She was the so called malérečka, a woman who paints folkloric ornaments. In her case, that was typically ultramarine blue ornaments from the ethnographic subregion of Horňácko that she painted on a chapel in her village Louka (locally Lúka) near Hodonín.
The chapel was built during recatholization in the mid 18th century and the locals take good care of it. It’s spruced up and repaired every spring by the parents of the children awaiting their first communion. Every two years, the chapel is painted white, which means that Mrs. Kašpárková had to paint new ornaments every other year, a job she did for 50 years.
No stencil, just talent and a steady hand, that is how she used to do it. She began by painting plates and eggs and started painting the famous chapel in her 40s. She passed away in 2018 and in fact, according to Czech TV, the photographs that went viral on the internet were made the last time she painted the chapel. Since the passing of Anežka Kašpárková, her niece Marie Jagošová has taken over the malérečka job.
– – – – –
Ultramarine is the type of paint and shade of blue typically used to paint the ornaments in several regions, including the aforementioned Horňácko.
– – – – –
Featured picture and picture of the chapel: obeclouka.cz
