Josef Mánes

Josef Manes ( born May 12, 1820 Prague, † December 9, 1871 ibid ) was Czech painter and representatives of Romanticism.

Life

Josef Manes came from a widely ramified family of painters. Significant family members and Bohemian artists have included his father Antonín Manes, his uncle and director of the Prague Academy of Painting Wenzel Manes, his brother and his sister Amalie Quido Manes Manes.

He received the first artistic training from his father. From 1835 to 1844 Manes studied at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts under Professor František Tkadlík and Christian Ruben. He then continued his studies for two years in the former metropolis of Munich artists. After his return, he spent two decades at Count Friedrich Sylva - Tarouca at the castle in Czech. From here he also undertook his explorations to Moravia, Slovakia and Poland.

Manes took active part in cultural life. He was an active member of the artist association Umělecká beseda, he designed the uniforms and flags for the Sokol gymnastic movement and for numerous other literary patriotic associations. In 1857 he visited Russia and three years later Italy, from where he returned mentally ill.

Importance

Josef Manes is considered the Czech national painter of the 19th century. His versatile work includes landscapes, portraits, historical scenes, genre paintings, ethnographic and botanical studies. From his contemporaries, his works were not understood and taken cool, what Manes came to mean a high dependence on the house Sylva - Tarouca. Known are his illustrations of the Prague astronomical clock and his paintings, inspired by the life in the village, whose people the purity, authenticity and humanity symbolized for him.

Honors

According to the artist, a 1887 Czech artist association Spolek výtvarných umělců Manes (SVU Manes ) was named, whose exhibition building is located in Prague. One of the central Vltava bridges leading from the Old Town to Mala Strana, bears his name. A statue of Manes, located at the beginning of the Manes Bridge on the Old Town side. Many stamps of the Czechoslovak Post show motives for pictures of Manes or it itself

Works

• Portrait of a Lady (Collection Kooperativa, Wiener Städtische Versicherung ), 1851, oil on canvas, 64.5 x 54.5 cm