The work by Josef Kalvoda, a prematurely deceased Josef Myslbek’s pupil, demonstrate an extraordinary capacity for introspection and a remarkable ability to give it artistic form. Influenced by contemporary European sculpture (during his studies in Germany and Scandinavia), he often chose serious, existential subjects and repeatedly portrayed figures marked by personal tragedy. The Observer is in harmony with works such as Cain, The Collapsed Man, and Judas. The figure’s somber face conveys the unease stirred by what he watches – perhaps social upheaval or natural catastrophe. The furrowed brow signals a hard/won insight that may have prompted the alternative title Thinker, foreshadowing both a possible descent into grief and the will to continue confronting a hostile world.