Franz Josef Thiele, or František Thiele (9 March 1868,

Frýdlant Frýdlant (; also known as Frýdlant v Čechách, german: Friedland in Böhmen) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,400 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law a ...

- 23 May 1945,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

) was a Czech painter and university professor.

Life and work

His father, also named Franz, was a weaver. After completing his primary education in 1883, he received a scholarship, sponsored by the family, and went to Vienna. Following a year of introductory courses 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 ...

, he studied at the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute o ...

with

August Eisenmenger August Eisenmenger (11 February 1830 – 7 December 1907) was an Austrian painter of portraits and historical subjects. Life He was born in Vienna. At the age of fifteen, Eisenmenger was already a student at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and ...

, Franz Rumpler and

Christian Griepenkerl Christian Griepenkerl (17 March 1839 – 22 March 1916) was a German painter and professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Biography Griepenkerl was born to one of Oldenburg's leading families. As a young man, he heeded the advice of his f ...

. In 1892, he was awarded a stipend to study in Italy. In 1894, he established himself in Vienna. He made numerous trips throughout Western Europe and visited

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. He became a member of the in 1896 and was one of the founding members of the

Hagenbund The Hagenbund or Künstlerbund Hagen was a group of Austrian artists that formed in 1899. The group's name derived from the name Herr Hagen, the proprietor of an inn in Vienna which they frequented. Early history The group's most prominent member ...

in 1900. Two years later, he was appointed an Associate Professor 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 ...

, and became a full Professor in 1905; a position he would hold until 1938. He volunteered for service in 1916 and worked as a war artist on several fronts for a year. During this period, he received several awards, including the Knight's Cross of the

Order of Franz Joseph The Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph (german: Kaiserlich-Österreichischer Franz-Joseph-Orden) was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on 2 December 1849, on the first anniversary of his accession to the imperial throne. Classes ...

, the

Order of the Iron Crown The Order of the Iron Crown ( it, link=no, Ordine della Corona Ferrea) was an order of merit that was established on 5 June 1805 in the Kingdom of Italy by Napoleon Bonaparte under his title of Napoleon I, King of Italy. The order took its name ...

, and the

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Hol ...

. He was married twice; in 1909 to Maria Starou then, in 1927, to the painter, Inge Peschka (1903-1993), with whom he had a son. He retired in 1938, following the

German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

. His next work was a propaganda poster, showing

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

in front of a cheering crowd. Some of his paintings were purchased by Hitler and

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

."Franz Thiele - Oslava záboru Sudet (1938)"
F. Thiele-Celebration of the Sudeten State Of 1938 @ Honvisa Near the end of the war, he and Inge were sent to a detention center operated by Czech patriots. He did not survive. Some sources indicate he may have been lynched. He was buried in a mass grave near Prague.

References

* "Thiele, Franz". In: Hans Vollmer (Ed.): ''Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart'', Vol.33: Theodotos–Urlaub. E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1939, pg.24

External links

*
"Franz Thiele"
entry @ AbART
"Franz Thiele (1868-1945)
, entry at the

Moravské zemské muzeum Moravské zemské muzeum (English: ''Moravian Museum'') is a museum in Brno in the Czech Republic. It is the second-largest and second-oldest museum in the country. Its collections include several million objects from many fields of science and cul ...

, Muzejní autority {{DEFAULTSORT:Thiele, Franz 1868 births 1945 deaths Czech painters Genre painters Landscape painters Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Academic staff of the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague People from Liberec District Painters from Austria-Hungary Czechoslovak painters