Antonín Lhota, Czech 1812-1905- Madonna and Child; oil on canvas, signed and dated 'A. Lhota 1881' (lower right), dedicated 'Ku úpomínce na snatek / našeho milovaného syna / Aug. Lhoty s Mathildou Burkovou, / uzavreného 23. cervence 1881 v Rakovníku, / venují tento obraz uprimní rodicové / Antonin a Marie Lhota / Praba [?] 33 [?] 1881' verso, 106 x 58 cm. Provenance: Property from a European Private Collection. Note: The inscription on the reverse describes how the present work was given by the artist and his wife, Marie Lhota, to their son Augustus Lhota, on the occasion of his marriage to Mathilda Burková in 1881. Lhota studied at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts under František Tkadlík (1786-1840) and František Kristian Waldherr (1784-1835). He was a hugely influential figure in the development of Czech painting, teaching a generation of Czech artists which included Maximilien Pirner (1853-1924), Václav Brožík (1851-1901), and Jakub Schikaneder (1855-1924), among many others. The present work is a classic example of Lhota's style, exhibiting the artist's highly-detailed approach, and the somewhat historical tone of his work.