Felix Jenewein (4 August 1857, in

Kutná Hora Kutná Hora (; medieval Czech: ''Hory Kutné''; german: Kuttenberg) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The centre of Kutná Hora, including the Sedlec Abbey and its ossuary, was designa ...

– 2 January 1905, in

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

) was a painter, illustrator and

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

from

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. Many of his best known works have a somber tone.

Biography

His father was a clerk at a tobacco factory and the family moved to Prague when he received a promotion. While still a young boy, Felix showed a talent for drawing and, after his mother showed his work to Antonín Lhota, he was able to 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 ...

, with Lhota and

Jan Swerts Jan Swerts (25 December 1820, Antwerp - 11 August 1879, Marienbad) was a Belgium, Belgian painter of historical subjects and portraits who worked on many publicly funded commissions. He played a major role in introducing German Romanticism, Roma ...

.Brief biography
@ Městská Knihovna, Kutná Hora Later, he continued his studies at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. History The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...

, where he studied with

Josef Matyáš Trenkwald Josef Matyáš Trenkwald (also known as Joseph Matthias Trenkwald, german: Josef Mathias (von) Trenkwald; 13 March 1824 — 28 July 1897) was a Czech-Austrian painter. He was best known for his religious and historical paintings. Biography Jos ...

and assisted him with painting frescoes at the Votive Church. After some disagreements with his teachers there, and prompted by his father's declining health, he returned to Prague and married a schoolteacher in 1882. While there, he participated in the competition to redecorate 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 ...

and contributed illustrations for several periodicals, including ' (Tom Thumb) and ''

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, p ...

''. From 1890 to 1892, after failing to obtain a position at the Academy, he taught drawing at the

School of Applied Arts A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

. In 1902, he moved to Brno to teach at the

University of Technology An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...

. He also served on the purchasing committee at the

Moravian Museum Moravian is the adjective form of the Czech Republic region of Moravia, and refers to people of ancestry from Moravia. Moravian may also refer to: * a member or adherent of the Moravian Church, one of the oldest Protestant denominations * Moravia ...

. His style gradually evolved from

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

and

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sy ...

, although his themes were often inspired by the earlier

Nazarene movement The epithet Nazarene was adopted by a group of early 19th-century German Romantic painters who aimed to revive spirituality in art. The name Nazarene came from a term of derision used against them for their affectation of a biblical manner of c ...

. His largest work involved a series of decorations for the Church of the Holy Family in the

Ottakring Ottakring () is the 16th District in the city of Vienna, Austria (german: 16. Bezirk, Ottakring). It is located west of the central districts, north of Penzing and south of Hernals. Ottakring has some heavily populated urban areas with many resid ...

district of Vienna. He died suddenly from a stroke and was returned to Kutná Hora for burial. In 1941, his widow donated over 200 works, plus correspondence and personal items, to the city. In the 1970s, an art gallery bearing his name was established there.

Selected works

Felix Jenewein - Pohřeb sebevraha (1901).jpg, Burial of a Suicide Jenewein-Drumming.jpg, Debauchery
(Plague series) Jenewein-Mountain.jpg, White Mountain File:Felix Jenewein - Mor.jpg, Dead Child
(Plague series)

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Jenewein.Galerie Felixe Jeneweina
website home page
Felix Jenewein
@ abART {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenewein, Felix 1857 births 1905 deaths Painters from Austria-Hungary Hungarian illustrators Lithographers Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Art Nouveau artists People from Kutná Hora Academic staff of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague

Biography

Selected works

References

Further reading

External links