Miroslav Tyrš (born Friedrich Emanuel Tirsch, in Czech: Bedřich Tyrš; 17 September 1832 – 8 August 1884) was a Czech philosopher,

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

, sports organizer and together with Jindřich Fügner the cofounder of the

Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a ...

movement.

Early life

Miroslav Tyrš was born Friedrich Emanuel Tirsch to a German doctor in

Děčín Děčín (; german: Tetschen, 1942–1945: ''Tetschen–Bodenbach'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. It is the 7th largest municipality in the country by area. Administrative parts D ...

. The family moved to

Döbling Döbling () is the 19th District in the city of Vienna, Austria (german: 19. Bezirk, Döbling, Doebling). It is located on the north end from the central districts, north of the districts Alsergrund and Währing. Döbling has some heavily populate ...

near

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

where his father, mother and two sisters died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

leaving Miroslav orphaned at the age of six years. He was brought up by his Czech uncle in Kropáčova Vrutice near

Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav (; german: Jungbunzlau) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 42,000 inhabitants. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region and a major centre of the Czech automotive ind ...

and was assimilated into the Czech community.Robert Šimek: Miroslav Tyrš – Paže tuž, vlasti služ!, Profit.cz 201

In 1844, Tyrš, along with nine other scholars, undertook physical training with R. Stephany. He studied at the Gymnasium (school), gymnasium in

Malá Strana Malá Strana (Czech for "Little Side (of the River)", ) or more formally Menší Město pražské () is a district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, and one of its most historic neighbourhoods. In the Middle Ages, it was a dominant cente ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and passed its final exam in Czech in 1850. At a time when students were required to take exams in the German language, yet Tyrš insisted on taking the exam in Czech to make a patriotic, pro-Czech stance. As a 16-year-old boy he fought in the streets of Prague during the Revolution of 1848, and then boasted of his shot-through cap.ed. Rudolf Chadraba, Josef Krása, Rostislav Švácha and Anděla Horová: Kapitoly z českého dějepisu umění I: Předchůdci a zakladatelé, Prague 1987, pp. 147–151 and 160–171 He also changed his Christian name first to ''Bedřich'' (Czech version of Friedrich) and then to Slavic ''Miroslav''. He became doctor of philosophy in 1860.ed. Martin Jan Vochoč: Kalendář historický národa českého, Prague 1940, pp. 811–812 His thesis dealt with the philosophy of

Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...

. He contributed philosophical articles to the first Czech encyclopaedia – '' Riegrův Slovník naučný'', František Rieger's "Reference Book". After failing to secure an academic job, he left Prague to work as a tutor for the sons of a businessman in Nový Jáchymov near

Beroun Beroun (; german: Beraun) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies at the confluence of the Berounka and Litavka rivers. Beroun creates a conurbation with Králův Dvůr, former p ...

Art history

Tyrš did not study art or art history but he received proper education from Robert von Zimmermann, visiting art galleries in Germany, France, Italy and England and reading art history books (

Johann Joachim Winckelmann Johann Joachim Winckelmann (; ; 9 December 17178 June 1768) was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the differences between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art. "The prophet and foundin ...

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (, ; 22 January 1729 – 15 February 1781) was a philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and a representative of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the develop ...

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friendsh ...

Hippolyte Taine Hippolyte Adolphe Taine (, 21 April 1828 – 5 March 1893) was a French historian, critic and philosopher. He was the chief theoretical influence on French naturalism, a major proponent of sociological positivism and one of the first practitio ...

Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English philosopher, psychologist, biologist, anthropologist, and sociologist famous for his hypothesis of social Darwinism. Spencer originated the expression " survival of the f ...

, Henry Thomas Buckle,

Karl Schnaase Karl Schnaase (7 September 1798 – 20 May 1875) was a distinguished German art historian and jurist. He was one of the founders of modern art history, and the author of one of the first surveys of the history of art. Life Schnaase was born ...

Gustav Friedrich Waagen Gustav Friedrich Waagen (11 February 1794 – 15 July 1868) was a German art historian. His opinions were greatly respected in England, where he was invited to give evidence before the royal commission inquiring into the condition and future o ...

Franz Theodor Kugler Franz Theodor Kugler (19 January 1808, Stettin – 18 March 1858, Berlin) was an art historian and cultural administrator for the Prussian state. He was the father of historian Bernhard von Kugler (1837-1898). He studied literature, music and t ...

, Anton Heinrich Springer,

Johannes Overbeck Johannes Adolph Overbeck (27 March 1826 – 8 November 1895) was a German archaeologist and art historian. Biography Overbeck was born in Antwerp. He was son-in-law to zoologist Georg August Goldfuss (1782-1848), and was father-in-law to anthropo ...

and

Giovanni Morelli Giovanni Morelli (25 February 1816 – 28 February 1891) was an Italian art critic and political figure. As an art historian, he developed the "Morellian" technique of scholarship, identifying the characteristic "hands" of painters through s ...

). His first book on

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

was ''Hod olympický'' (Olympic Feast, 1868), an ode to Greek arts and sports. In his next book ''O zákonech kompozice v umění výtvarném'' (The Law of Composition in Art, 1873) he distinguishes three kinds of art work: 1. more content than form, 2. balanced, 3. more form than content. His study ''O zákonu konvergence při tvoření uměleckém'' (The Law of Convergence in Creating Art, 1880) argues that both form and content should be submitted to the artist's idea. The idea is influenced by external conditions which he described in his other important books ''O slohu gotickém'' (

Gothic Style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

, 1881), ''Láokoón, dílo z doby římské'' ( Laocoön, Masterpiece from the Roman Times, 1873), '' Phidias,

Myron Myron of Eleutherae ( grc, Μύρων, ''Myrōn'' ), working c. 480–440 BC, was an Athenian sculptor from the mid-5th century BC. He was born in Eleutherae on the borders of Boeotia and Attica. According to Pliny's '' Natural History'', Agelada ...

, Polyklet'' (1879) and the unfinished ''Raffael Santi a díla jeho'' ( Raffael Santi and his work, 1873, published 1933). Tyrš saw an ''ideal type of Czechslavic men and women'' in the paintings of

Josef Mánes Josef Mánes (12 May 1820, Prague – 9 December 1871, Prague) was a Czech painter. Life He came from a family of painters, which included his father Antonín, his uncle and Director of the Prague Art Academy Václav, his brother Quido and h ...

while in contrast, he did not think highly of the work of

Mikoláš Aleš Mikoláš Aleš (18 November 1852 – 10 July 1913) was a Czech painter. Aleš is estimated to have had over 5,000 published pictures; he painted for everything from magazines to playing cards to textbooks. His paintings were not publicized to ...

. His life interest and greatest monograph focused on the life and work of Jaroslav Čermák (1879). Among the world's painters he admired

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...

. Tyrš's work on Láokoón was denied by the professors at Philosophical Faculty of

Charles-Ferdinand University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , underg ...

in Prague in 1879 and so he applied for the title of

docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de conf ...

Czech Technical University in Prague Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU, cs, České vysoké učení technické v Praze, ČVUT) is one of the largest universities in the Czech Republic with 8 faculties, and is one of the oldest institutes of technology in Central Europe. It ...

. On appeal, he succeeded and became a teacher at the university. When Charles-Ferdinand University split into Czech and German universities, Tyrš was appointed docent (1882) and then

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

(1883) of art history at Philosophical Faculty of the Czech university. His first lectures focused on the art of Orient. He signed a contract on writing ''The History of Art'' for Jan Otto but died at the start of the work. Tyrš was a member of a jury to assess projects for the

Prague National Theatre The National Theatre ( cs, Národní divadlo) in Prague is known as the alma mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art. The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a ri ...

building.

Sports and the Sokol movement

His bad physical condition gave him an interest in sports. His doctor recommended that he attend Schmidt Institute of Sports and later the institute of Jan Malýpetr. He taught sports to the sons of a businessman in Nový Jáchymov and made up new sports terminology for them. In , together with Jindřich Fügner, his father-in-law, he founded ''Tělocvičná jednota'' (Physical Training Union), which two years later adopted the name

, as proposed by Emanuel Tonner.Zlata Kozáková: Sokolské slety. Prague 1994. , p. 5. As a born German he wanted the club to be open to all the nationalities, but Germans in Bohemia refused to be in the same club with Czechs, so Tyrš changed his mind and started promoting the new club as bringing the Greek ideal only to Czech people. He saw in his teachings a kind of opposition to the German " völkisch" virtues established by

Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (11August 177815October 1852) was a German gymnastics educator and nationalist whose writing is credited with the founding of the German gymnastics ( Turner) movement as well as influencing the German Campaign of 1813, during which a coalition o ...

. First Sokol president Jindřich Fügner introduced the members' habit of calling each other ''brother'' and ''sister''. Their costume was designed by

. Tyrš became the first vice-president. After the first trips to the

Říp Mountain Říp Mountain ( cs, hora Říp, ; german: anktGeorgsberg or Raudnitzer Berg), also known as Říp Hill, is a 459 m solitary hill rising up from the central Bohemian flatland where, according to legend, the first Czechs settled. Říp is located ...

and Oppidum Závist, the movement became widely popular among Czech patriots and in 1863 there were over 2000 members. Tyrš introduced the physical training system and nomenclature in ''Základy tělocviku'' (Basics of Physical Training, 1865). He also introduced a Renaissance-like architecture of Sokol gymnasiums.

Other activities

Tyrš was a member of the Umělecká beseda (Artistic Circle, 1863); he was an active promoter of the National Theatre opening in Prague (1881) and co-founder of the Museum of Prague City (1884). He was elected a member of parliament in Vienna for Tábor District. Miroslav Tyrš went to the Ötztal for a holiday in summer 1884. He was declared missing on 8 August and found 13 days later in the Ötztaler Ache river. After a national funeral he was buried in

Olšany Cemetery Olšany Cemeteries (''Olšanské hřbitovy'' in Czech, ''Wolschan'' in German) is the largest graveyard in Prague, Czech Republic, once laid out for as many as two million burials. The graveyard is particularly noted for its many remarkable ar ...

next to Jindřich Fügner.

Legacy

Tyrš is the third most frequent surname used for street names in the Czech Republic (after

Comenius John Amos Comenius (; cs, Jan Amos Komenský; pl, Jan Amos Komeński; german: Johann Amos Comenius; Latinized: ''Ioannes Amos Comenius''; 28 March 1592 – 15 November 1670) was a Czech philosopher, pedagogue and theologian who is considere ...

and Hus). Serbia's biggest children hospital is named after Tyrš.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyrs, Miroslav 1832 births 1884 deaths People from Děčín People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czech people of German descent Young Czech Party politicians Members of the House of Deputies (Austria) Czech art historians Czech educators Czech sports executives and administrators People associated with physical culture Burials at Olšany Cemetery