Jan Autengruber (25 April 1887,

Pacov Pacov (; ) is a town in Pelhřimov District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,700 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban mo ...

– 15 July 1920,

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 ...

) was a

Post-Impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction a ...

painter.

Biography

After the early death of his father, his family moved to

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is the largest ...

. After completing his primary education, he was accepted at the

Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague The Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (AAAD, , abbreviated VŠUP, also known as UMPRUM) is a public university located in Prague, Czech Republic. The university offers the study disciplines of painting, illustration and graphics, ...

. After two years, he transferred to 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 ...

, where he was a two-time recipient of the annual award. He achieved very little critical attention in his home country, so he exhibited widely throughout Germany: in Munich, Berlin, Dresden,

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

, Hannover, Cologne, Hamburg, and Frankfurt. In 1913, he was awarded a scholarship to study in Italy. During the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he attempted to avoid being drafted by studying restorative art at the Munich Academy, but it was only a short reprieve and he was mustered into service at

Jindřichův Hradec Jindřichův Hradec (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 21,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urb ...

. He managed to survive the war and settled in Prague, where he took courses in art history at the

Faculty of Arts, Charles University The Faculty of Arts, Charles University (), is one of the original four faculties of Charles University in Prague. When founded, it was named the Faculty of the Liberal Arts or the Artistic Faculty. The faculty provides lectures in the widest ran ...

. In 1919, he married the artist Hana Jedličková (1888–1970). The following year, he became a victim of the

flu pandemic Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

, dying from a combination of flu and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. His wife spent her life promoting his works. A major retrospective was held in 2002 at the

National Gallery in Prague The National Gallery Prague (, NGP), formerly the National Gallery in Prague (), is a state-owned art gallery in Prague, which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic and presents masterpieces of Czech and international fine a ...

, followed by another in 2009 at the in

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

.''Plzeňská výstava představuje umělce, který přerostl české poměry''
– kultura.iDNES.cz, 22. 10. 2009

Selected paintings

Jan Autengruber - 001.jpg, View of Naples (?) Jan Autengruber - Cesta v brezovem haji.jpg, Path in a Birch Grove Jan Autengruber (1887-1920) - lázeň (1911).jpg, Bathing Jan Autengruber (1887-1920) - houslistka (1913).jpg, Violinist

References

External links

Biography and appreciation
@ the West Bohemian Gallery
Works by and about Autengruber
@ the Databáze Národní Knihovny ČR {{DEFAULTSORT:Autengruber, Jan 1887 births 1920 deaths People from Pacov 20th-century Czech painters Painters from Austria-Hungary Post-impressionist painters Deaths from the Spanish flu pandemic Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague alumni

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links