Postavy a scény venkovského obchodu Moravy a Slezska – ikonografická sonda

Country trade conducted in the territory of Moravia and Silesia by means of its individual types or door-to-door sales became the theme of some visual arts works from the 18th century onwards. The authors from the turn of the 19th century (S. Mansfeld, J. H. A. Gallaš) focused more on the depiction of the representatives of some occupations (peasant couple from Haná, the manufacturer of wooden containers, and a door-to-door seller from Wallachia), where the market environment is only sketched as a complement by means of selected attributes. F. Kalivoda continued this concept in the mid-19th century. Whereas the characters of couples wearing costumes from various regions of Moravia and Silesia follow their predecessors, in his work we can find scenes of more complex compositions from market activities in selected localities from Moravia and Silesia. The works of Kalivoda are important not only for the depiction of sales equipment, the forms of sale, but also of some non-economic functions of markets. The topics concerning country trade captured the attention many authors in the following decades, including photographers. Whereas photographs fulfil mainly the documentary function in this respect, visual arts works with the theme of country trade focus on capturing the original atmosphere of this specific accumulation of people.