Antonín Procházka (5 June 1882, in
Vážany – 9 June 1945, in
Brno) was a Czech
Modernist
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
painter and graphic artist.
Biography
He graduated from the
gymnasium in
Kroměříž
Kroměříž (; german: Kremsier) is a town in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It is known for the Kroměříž Castle with castle gardens, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town centre with the ...
then, in 1902, began studies at the
Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague
The Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (AAAD, cs, Vysoká škola uměleckoprůmyslová v Praze, abbreviated VŠUP, also known as UMPRUM) is a public university located in Prague, Czech Republic. The university offers the study ...
with
Vlaho Bukovac
Vlaho Bukovac (french: Blaise Bukovac; it, Biagio Faggioni; 4 July 1855 – 23 April 1922) was a Croatian painter and academic. His life and work were eclectic, for the artist pursued his career in a variety of locales and his style changed gre ...
,
Hanuš Schwaiger
Hanuš Johann Peter Paul Schwaiger (1854–1912) was a Czech painter, designer, graphic artist and professor, best known for his fairy-tale illustrations.
Biography
He was the only son of six children born to a German language, German-speaking ...
and
Max Švabinský
Max Švabinský (17 September 1873 – 10 February 1962) was a Czech painter, draughtsman, graphic artist, and professor in Academy of Graphic Arts in Prague. Švabinský is considered one of the more notable artists in the history of Czech p ...
.
[Biographical notes](_blank)
@ Osobnosti. In 1907, he and his classmate,
Emil Filla
Emil Filla (4 April 1882 – 7 October 1953), a Moravian painter, was a leader of the avant-garde in Prague between World War I and World War II and was an early Cubist painter.
Early life
Filla was born in Chropyně, Moravia, and spent his c ...
, joined the group "" ("The Eight"), together with
Bohumil Kubišta
Bohumil Kubišta (21 August 1884 in Vlčkovice, Bohemia – 27 November 1918 in Prague)Chilvers, Ian, and John Glaves-Smith. "Kubišta, Bohumil." in ''A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art''. Oxford University Press, 2009. Oxford Reference ...
,
Emil Artur Longen
Emil Artur Longen, born Emil Václav František Pitterman (29 July 1885, Pardubice – 24 April 1936, Benešov) was a Czech playwright, director, actor, screenwriter and painter. He was initially drawn to Post-Impressionism and Expressionism, ...
,
Otakar Kubín,
Bedřich Feigl, and . It was then that he was introduced to the newest art movements, such as
Fauvism and
Cubism.
In 1911, he married the German painter, , whom he had met while travelling. Two years later,
Herwarth Walden
Herwarth Walden (actual name Georg Lewin; 16 September 1879, in Berlin – 31 October 1941, in Saratov, Russia) was a German expressionist artist and art expert in many disciplines. He is broadly acknowledged as one of the most important discove ...
invited him, Filla, Kubin and
Vincenc Beneš to participate in the ''
Erster Deutscher Herbstsalon'' (Autumn Salon) in Berlin, where he displayed a Cubist
still-life.
He became a drawing teacher at a girls' school in Brno in 1924.
There, in 1938, he created a monumental painting, "Prometheus Bringing Fire to Mankind" for
Masaryk University
Masaryk University (MU) ( cs, Masarykova univerzita; la, Universitas Masarykiana Brunensis) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno as the se ...
. During the
German Occupation
German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
, he provided illustrations for a collection of folk ballads by
Karel Jaromír Erben
Karel Jaromír Erben (; 7 November 1811 – 21 November 1870) was a Czech folklorist and poet of the mid-19th century, best known for his collection '' Kytice'', which contains poems based on traditional and folkloric themes.
He also wrote ''P ...
.
From 1909 to 1911, and again from 1923 to 1929, he was a member of the
Mánes Union of Fine Arts
The Mánes Association of Fine Artists ( or ''S.V.U.''; commonly abbreviated as ''Manes'') was an artists' association and exhibition society founded in 1887 in Prague and named after painter Josef Mánes.
The Manes was significant for its inte ...
.
Originally an
Expressionist
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
, he moved through Cubism to create his own personal form of
Neo-Classicism
Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism w ...
. He also created some small equestrian statues of President
Tomáš Masaryk
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (7 March 185014 September 1937) was a Czechoslovak politician, statesman, sociologist, and philosopher. Until 1914, he advocated restructuring the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a federal state. With the help of ...
.
In 1946, he received the posthumous title of "" (People's Artist) from the Czechoslovak Republic.
A street in Brno is named after him.
Selected paintings
File:Prochazka-Violinist.jpg, The Violinist
File:Antonín Procházka - Muž a žena 1915.jpg, Husband and Wife
File:Prochazka-Wreath.jpg, Wreath Making
File:Antonín Procházka - Prometheus 1911.jpg, Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning " forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, kn ...
References
Further reading
* Albert Kutal: ''Antonín Procházka'', State Exposition of Fiction, Music and Art, Prague, 1959.
* Ludvík Ševeček (ed.), ''Antonín Procházka 1882-1945: obrazy, kresby, grafika'' (exhibition catalog),
Moravian Gallery, 1979
External links
The Art of Antonín Procházka@ Très Bohèmes
ArtNet: More works by Procházka.*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prochazka, Antonin
1882 births
1945 deaths
Burials at Brno Central Cemetery
20th-century Czech painters
Cubist artists
Neoclassicism
People from Vyškov District
Czech male painters
20th-century Czech male artists
Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague alumni