Emanuel Krescenc Liška (19 April 1852 – 18 January 1903) was a Czech painter and illustrator. Most of his works were on religious themes, but he also created scenes from works of poetry.

Biography

Liška was born on 19 April 1852 in Mikulovice. Not long after he was born, the family moved to

Milevsko Milevsko (; ) is a town in Písek District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,000 inhabitants. Administrative division Milevsko consists of six municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): ...

, where his father had found work as a farm manager. Their stay was short, however, as his father soon died and his mother took him to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. When he was nine, his mother also died, leaving him almost nothing.Brief biography
@ SPH (Prague Cemeteries). As soon as he was old enough, he began taking art lessons, but had to support himself by tutoring and working as an assistant at the local gymnasium. He achieved second place in a contest to create designs for the hall of the National Theatre, then was awarded a contract by the city government to copy the designs on the calendar dial of the

Prague astronomical clock The Prague astronomical clock or Prague Orloj ( ) is a medieval astronomical clock attached to the Old Town Hall in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. Description The Orloj is mounted on the southern wall of Old Town Hall in the Old ...

. In 1879, he and Jakub Schikaneder were chosen to decorate the Royal Box at the National Theatre, but their work was destroyed by fire only two years later. Liška used his commission to attend classes with Otto Seitz at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (, 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, Germany. In the second half of the 19th centur ...

. A mural of the Crucifixion in the chapel at the (a charity for the blind) resulted in a grant that enabled him to spend two years in Italy. The works he created there were shown at the

General Land Centennial Exhibition (1891) The General Land Centennial Exhibition was a World's fair held in 1891 in Prague, then in the Austria-Hungarian Empire. Many buildings were erected for this exposition, including the '' Průmyslový palace (Industrial Palace)'' and the ''Kři� ...

. Despite these successes, his oil paintings never sold well. From 1888, he served as a professor at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design. He died in Prague suddenly on 18 January 1903, of a stroke. A memorial poem in his honor was written by Bohdan Kaminský.Text of poem, ''In Memoriam''
from ''

Zlatá Praha ''Zlatá Praha'' (''Golden Prague'') was a Czech illustrated literary magazine. Founded by poet Vítězslav Hálek, it was published separately from 1864 to 1865 before it was restarted again in 1884 by publisher Jan Otto, with Ferdinand Schulz, ...

'', vol.20 #13.

Selected paintings

Emanuel-Krescenc-Liška,-Kristus-na-hoře-Olivetské,-1886.jpg, Christ on the

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet (; ; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem, east of and adjacent to Old City of Jerusalem, Jerusalem's Old City. It is named for the olive, olive ...

Emanuel Krescenc Liška - vesnické námluvy (1896).jpg, Village Courtship Emanuel Krescenc Liška – Cain (1885).jpg,

Cain Cain is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He was a farmer who gave an offering of his crops to God. How ...

Emanuel_Krescenc_Liška_-_Hagar_a_Izmael_na_poušti_(1883).jpg,

Hagar According to the Book of Genesis, Hagar is an Egyptian slave, a handmaiden of Sarah (then known as ''Sarai''), whom Sarah gave to her own husband Abram (later renamed Abraham) as a wife to bear him a child. Abraham's firstborn son, through Haga ...

and

Ishmael In the Bible, biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael (; ; ; ) is the first son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife Sarah. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs. Within Isla ...

in the Desert

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liska, Emanuel 1852 births 1903 deaths People from Mikulovice (Znojmo District) Artists from the Margraviate of Moravia 19th-century Czech painters 19th-century Czech male artists Religious artists Czech male painters Academic staff of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague Burials at Olšany Cemetery

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links