Jan Preisler often characterized figures in his works by directing their gaze beyond their immediate surroundings and away from the viewer. They seem to watch something so distant that it cannot be reached only by turning inward. In some cases, this motif is combined with a slight tilt of the head or other stylization that heightens the sense of stillness and evokes melancholy – sadness at the unattainability of an ideal, the inadequacy of one's own strength, or disillusionment with one’s earlier steps. At the same time, however, this desire to perceive something unnamable attest to the individual’s singularity and essential artistry: the capacity to reveal new paths that others may follow.

Landscape in Blue

All that was green is cold and altered
Clad in the shades of fawning blue
On a mild slope, the spilt land falters
In purple vapours’ bitter hue

And in that breath, all soft and dreamy,
the lines that once were sharp seem dulled.
And the curvy trees on the horizon,
Are like blue droplets of paint dripped from a brush

Always a strange mood befalls me,
when evening stillness creeps across the land,
Where blue song resounds in the cool air
so cajoling yet so full of bitterness:

In the lamps’ blue shade it seems I’m treading
softly on sacred ledger stones,
and the air, suffused with sighs repentant,
breathes with the gloomy charm of purple robes.