Ladislav Horáček (1947–2015)
Ladislav Horáček changed jobs several times after his studies. In 1980 he became editor of the Středočeské nakladatelství (Central Bohemian Publishing House), which was formative for his career. After the 1989 revolution, he founded Paseka, the first privately run publishing house in the then Czechoslovakia. He himself said that this was prompted by his wanting to publish Josef Váchal’s Bloody Novel, at his own expense.
The Paseka publishing house has been instrumental in spreading awareness about Josef Váchal. Horáček published a number of books about the artist’s life and work, as well as reprints of Váchal’s books, including his largest authorial book, ‘Šumava the Dying and Romantic’ reprinted full-scale in large format, a book measuring 48 x 64 cm.
When Ladislav Horáček found out that the Portmoneum was not just another of Váchal’s confabulations in his Bloody Novel, he considered it his moral duty to save it for posterity. In 1991 he bought the house from the National Gallery and had it repaired at his own expense.
Litomyšl owes a debt to Ladislav Horáček not only for saving and opening the Portmoneum – Josef Váchal Museum to the public in 1993, but also for having the first street in the world named after Josef Váchal, for founding an art restoration school, and for establishing a light-hearted festival, dubbed the ‘Spa of the Spirit’.
Ladislav Horáček died in 2015 and the Pardubice Region local government bought the Portmoneum from his daughters.
Ladislav Horáček Memorial Plaque
The initiative to place a memorial plaque of Ladislav Horáček at the Portmoneum was taken by his Prague friends. They wanted to commemorate him as the founder of the Paseka publishing house, the saviour of Portmone and, above all, as a man who helped to popularise Váchalov’s work.
The financial donations of private individuals from Prague and Litomysl and the contribution of the town of Litomysl and the Pardubice Region, which owns Portmone, have created a very special work. The plaque was unveiled on 4 September 2021.
Documentary film from the unveiling of the plaque
The plaque takes the form of an open book with a paraphrase of a quote and a woodcut from The Bloody Novel, in which Váchal is hypnotised by Dr Řimsa, a doctor at an alcohol treatment centre. The doctor was replaced on the plate by Ladislav Horáček, who, as an admirer of Váchal’s Bloody novel, named his publishing house after one of Váchal’s personifications — the printer and publisher Josef Pasek.
The author of the memorial plaque is academic sculptor Petr Císařovský. Horáček’s old friends from the Dr. Řimsa Anti-Alcohol Society also participated in its conception and wording. The stencil font was designed by Karel Haloun, the micro-milling was done by Jasprotech s.r.o. (Jiří Jašečka). The client was the Regional Museum in Litomyšl. The 72 x 54.4 cm plate is made of laminated stainless steel sheets.
