Milivoj Uzelac.

Basque Pelota.

12 x 16 inches

A decorative Pochoir, or stencil, print by Milivoj Uzelec (1897-1977) published in Paris in 1932.

Basque Pelota is not that well known as a game in Great Britain but it is, allegedly, all the rage in rural France where the aim is to hit a ball at a wall using your hand, a bat or some form of racquet. So far, so simple, but the rules are clearly more complex and as we see here, many people can play at once. In this version the men appear to be playing with elongated, yellow bats, more akin to a hockey stick. It's evidently entertaining enough to attract a crown of beret wearing spectators.

This is a most unusual print from a scarce de luxe edition of Uzelac's Sports that was printed on Imperial Paper of Japan. The prints therein epitomise the glorification of the male body and the passion for physical fitness that swept across Europe in the 1930's. Uzelac was born in Herzegovina but studied in Prague before settling in Paris from the 1920's onwards. These wonderfully evocative prints were hand coloured for Maurice and Jacques Goddet's Les Joies du Sport and were published in Paris as a limited edition of 750.

£350