Julius Eduard Mařák (29 March 1832,
Litomyšl
Litomyšl (; german: Leitomischl) is a town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,900 inhabitants. It is former bishopric and Latin Catholic titular see. Litomyšl is known for the château-type castle ...
– 8 October 1899,
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
) was a Czech landscape painter and graphic designer.
Life
His father was an
auditor and land registrar. His first painting lessons came while he was still in the
Gymnasium, although he had difficulty deciding between an artistic or a musical career, because several family members were singers and musicians. From 1852 to 1853, he studied at the
Academy of Fine Arts, Prague
The Academy of Fine Arts, Prague ( cs, Akademie výtvarných umění v Praze; AVU) is an art college in Prague, Czech Republic. Founded in 1799, it is the oldest art college in the country. The school offers twelve master's degree programs and on ...
, under
Max Haushofer
Maximilian Joseph Haushofer (12 September 1811 – 24 August 1866) was a German landscape painter and professor of landscape painting at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts.
Biography
He was born in Nymphenburg, the son of a tutor at the court of ...
, then attended the
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich
The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, ...
, where his instructors were
Leopold Rottmann and
Eduard Schleich.
[Radio Prague: Brief biography](_blank)
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From 1855 to 1858, he wandered throughout Bohemia, seeking inspiration, then settled in Vienna. While there, he learned etching, gave drawing lessons,Barbizon school
The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name ...
began to appear in his work, although he had never been to France. He later made a tour of the Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
and the Tyrol
Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
.
He returned to Prague in 1887 when Josef Hlávka offered him a professorial post for landscape painting at the Academy. Among his students there were Otakar Lebeda, Antonín Slavíček, František Kaván and Alois Kalvoda, who formed what became known as the ''Mařákova krajinářská škola'' (Mařák Landscape School). In 1893, he became seriously ill and had to rely on the help of his students to complete his commissions.
Among his major commissions were decorations for the new National Theater in Prague and paintings for the staircase of the National Museum. He also created a group of sketches, for Goupil and Kaeser publishing, depicting the four seasons and the four times of day.Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
.
His daughter, Josefina, also became a painter, but died young.
Selected paintings
Marak web1.jpg, Morning Song (1877)
22 big.jpg, Forest Still Life (c.1865)
Marak28.jpg, Rocks
Marak037.jpg, On the Edge
of the Forest
Julius Mařák - les.jpg, Forest
References
Further reading
*Naděžda Blažíčková-Horová: ''Julius Mařák a jeho žáci'' (Julius Mařák and His Pupils), Národní galerie (exhibition catalog), Prague, 1999
External links
Works relating to Julius Mařák
@ the Czech National Library
Cycle of paintings for the hallway of the Royal Lodge
@ Česká televize
Czech Television ( cs, Česká televize, italics=no ; abbreviation: ČT) is a public television broadcaster in the Czech Republic, broadcasting seven channels. Established after the Velvet Revolution in 1992, it is the successor to Czechoslov ...
, hosted by Monika Sybolová
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marak, Julius
Czech graphic designers
1832 births
1899 deaths
19th-century Czech painters
Czech male painters
People from Litomyšl
19th-century Czech male artists