Milivoj Uzelac.

Football.

12 x 16 inches

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

In an age when we are inundated with football all year round and interests are very tribal, it is fascinating to see players from an era long before Beckham, Bellingham and Bukayo Saka. These lads are all straining at the net in what one imagines is a French friendly. They appear to be leaping through the net in absolute jubilation.

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