Josef Matěj Navrátil (17 February 1798 – 21 April 1865) was a Czech painter.

Early life

Born in

Slaný Slaný (; german: Schlan) is a town in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administr ...

, Navrátil was trained by his father as a decorator, and after further study 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 ...

became a painter-decorator. He also took numerous trips abroad, particularly to Switzerland.

Career

His wall paintings from this early period still decorate different objects in Prague (including

Prague Castle Prague Castle ( cs, Pražský hrad; ) is a castle complex in Prague 1 Municipality within Prague, Czech Republic, built in the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for ki ...

), the Postal Museum in Liběchov, Ploskovice,

Jirny Jirny is a municipality and village in Prague-East District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,000 inhabitants. It lies on the D11 motorway. Administrative parts The village of Nové Jirny is an administrative ...

(with its famous Alpine room) and elsewhere. On the imperial castle in

Zákupy Zákupy (; german: Reichstadt) is a town in Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. The town centre with the castle is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. A ...

when editing as the future seat of the emperor in the years 1850 - 1853 with the help of assistants decorated the 20 rooms historical and

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other ...

paintings, ornaments, and allegorical works. His fame grew, and in 1850 he became president of the Union of Artists. Eleven years later, he had to leave because partially paralyzed as a result of a stroke. He lived in poverty. NavratilStaveni

Legacy

The first comprehensive exhibition of his work took place posthumously in 1909 in the

Rudolfinum The Rudolfinum is a building in Prague, Czech Republic. It is designed in the neo-renaissance style and is situated on Jan Palach Square on the bank of the river Vltava. Since its opening in 1885, it has been associated with music and art. Curr ...

. In 1952, he had a street named after him near Charles Square in Prague. He inspired photographer

Josef Sudek Josef Sudek (17 March 1896 – 15 September 1976) was a Czech photographer, best known for his photographs of Prague. Life Sudek was born in Kolín, Bohemia. He was originally a bookbinder. During the First World War he was drafted into the ...

, which influence appears in the fifties with his still life paintings that reproduce not only for printing, but also for himself. He let them affect the recording of Cologne landscape after World War II created a series of still life by Navrátil in 1954. The art of painter Navrátil has been depicted on at least one postage stamp of Czechoslovakia. On 19 August 1988 Czechoslovakia issued a five koruna stamp depicting the painting "Turin, Monte Superga," located at the Prague Postal Museum. The Scott catalog number for this stamp is 2715. The five koruna stamp was issued with two identical postage stamps in a miniature souvenir sheet issued in commemoration of the Prague '88 International Stamp Exhibition.

Style

Navrátil was superb landscape painter, but most of his work focussed on

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

s and figurative paintings and sketches. In his paintings there is a mixing of various styles of sketches, which gets to the point of

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passa ...

References

* Jaromír Pečírka: Josef Navrátil. Manes - Melantrich, Prague, 1940. * Josef Navratil and Czech romanticism. Exhibition catalog of paintings J. Navratil and 19 artists from the years 1800 to 1870. Litoměřice June to August 1987. * VV Stech: In the foggy mirror, Czechoslovakian writer, Praha, 1969, pp. 56, 91, 125, 134, 200-203, 215, 218, 225, 239 {{DEFAULTSORT:Navratil, Josef Matej Czech painters Czech male painters Landscape painters 1798 births 1865 deaths People from Slaný Academy of Fine Arts, Prague alumni