Augustin Němejc (15 March 1861,

Nepomuk Nepomuk (; german: Pomuk) is a town in Plzeň-South District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,700 inhabitants. It is known as the birthplace of Saint John of Nepomuk, who was born here around 1340 and whose statue can be ...

– 16 August 1938,

Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...

) was a Czech painter, known for his portrayals of village life and costumes from the

Plzeň Region Plzeň Region ( cs, Plzeňský kraj; german: Pilsner Region) is an administrative unit (''kraj'') in the western part of Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It is named after its capital Plzeň (English, german: Pilsen). In terms of area, Plzeň Reg ...

Biography

Němejc was born in Nepomuk in 1861, son of a butcher and brewer. In 1875, he was apprenticed to a watchmaker. After becoming a journeyman, he travelled extensively to improve his skills. This included a stay in Italy, where visits to art galleries inspired him to become a painter instead. With the patronage of a noblewoman, , he began taking lessons from František Sequens and

Maximilian Pirner Maximilian Pirner ( cs, Maxmilián Pirner; 13 February 1853 in Sušice – 2 April 1924 in Prague) was a Czech painter. He was a member of the Vienna Secession, and associated with the Mánes Union of Fine Arts. Life and work He was enrolled fro ...

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 ...

, continued his studies at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, 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, ...

with

Alexander von Wagner Alexander originally Sándor von Wagner (April 16, 1838 – January 19, 1919) was a Hungarian painter. Biography Wagner was born in Pesth. After graduating from the Real-Gymnasium in his hometown at the age of nineteen, he entered the Aca ...

, then worked as a painter and art teacher in Plzeň. His painting "Hopeless Love" won a major award at the

General Land Centennial Exhibition The General Land Centennial Exhibition was a List of world's fairs, World's fair held in 1891 in Prague, then in the Austria-Hungary, Austria-Hungarian Empire. Many buildings were erected for this exposition, including the ''Průmyslový palace ...

in 1891. It also earned him a one-year scholarship to study in Paris where he worked with Vojtěch Hynais, who had created the curtain for the

Prague National Theater 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 ...

. In 1900, as a result of this experience, he was commissioned to create a curtain for the new Josef Kajetán Tyl Theatre. At about the same time, he painted

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc take ...

s at the recently completed . He also created monumental paintings for the Higher Economic School, now a satellite institute of

Charles 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 , undergr ...

. From 1907 to 1925, he was a teacher at the girls'

lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the th ...

. He is best known as a regionalist, focusing on costumes and village life from the surrounding areas. A museum has been opened at his family home in Nepomuk and, on the 150th anniversary of his birth in 2011, a memorial plaque was placed at his home in Plzeň.

Selected paintings

File:Nemejc-Hopeless.jpg, Hopeless Love File:Augustin Němejc - Stříhání ovcí.jpg, Sheep Shearing Image:Augustin Němejc - Litičanka u plotu.jpg, At the Fence Image:Augustin Němejc - Žíznivý návštěvník.jpg, Thirsty Visitor

References

External links

More works by Němejc
@ the Augustin Němejc website
"Malíř Augustin Němejc bude mít v rodném domě museum"
(birthplace museum) @ the Plzeň website {{DEFAULTSORT:Nemejc, Augustin 1861 births 1938 deaths 20th-century Czech painters Genre painters Folk art Czech portrait painters People from Plzeň-South District 19th-century Czech painters Czech male painters 19th-century Czech male artists 20th-century Czech male artists

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links