Jan Konůpek (October 10, 1883 in Mladá Boleslav – March 13, 1950 in Prague) was a Czech

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

, and engraver. A list of his graphic works comprises 1448 works and more than 600 book illustrations. He is among the three greatest known Czechs for ''interwar art'', alongside František Kobliha and

František Drtikol František Drtikol (3 March 1883 – 13 January 1961) was a Czech photographer known for his nudes and portraits. Life and work Drtikol was born in Příbram into a merchant family, the younger of three children, brother of sisters, Ema and M ...

Studies

From 1903 to 1906, Jan Konůpek studied architecture at Prague Polytechnical Institute in Prague but under the influence of

Pavel Janák Pavel Janák (12 March 1881 in Karlín – 1 August 1956 in Prague-Dejvice) was a Czech modernist architect, furniture designer, town planner, professor and theoretician. Life Janák studied with Otto Wagner in Vienna between 1906 and 1908, and ...

and Václav Vilém Štech, he switched to art. From 1906 to 1908, he studied in Professor Maximilian Pirner's studio.

Art

Being one of the founding members of Sursum, a Czech second-generation

symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

movement group, he drew inspiration from medieval mysticism, and Gothic and Baroque architecture. His works from the early 20th century, influenced by symbolism and

Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's prim ...

, are considered his best. He illustrated symbolist literature as well as works by Karel Jaromír Erben (''

Kytice ''Kytice z pověstí národních'' (''A Bouquet of Folk Legends''), also known by the short title ''Kytice'' (Czech for '' bouquet''), is a collection of ballads by the Czech author Karel Jaromír Erben. The collection was first published in 1853 ...

'') and

Karel Hynek Mácha Karel Hynek Mácha () (16 November 1810 – 5 November 1836) was a Czech romantic poet. Biography Mácha grew up in Prague, the son of a foreman at a mill. He learned Latin and German in school. He went on to study law at Prague University; du ...

('' Máj'') and many others.

Gallery

File:Oheň Moudrosti, Jan konupek 1926.png, ''Oheň Moudrosti'', 1926

References

1883 births 1950 deaths 20th-century Czech painters Czech male painters People from Mladá Boleslav 20th-century Czech male artists Czechoslovak painters {{CzechRepublic-painter-stub