Karel Havlíček (31 October 1907 – 25 December 1988) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

painter and designer.

Biography

He was born on 31 October 1907 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

where his parents had moved from

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in 1903 because his father Karel started to work in the state theatres as a scene designer. They moved to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in 1923 and his father entered the National Theatre in Prague as a stage setter. Karel Havlíček junior studied in Berlin and Prague gymnasiums and influenced by his father and his friends ( Cesar Klein, Pankok, Emil Pirchan, and Aravantinos) he was interested in art. However his father persuaded him to study law at

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

and after graduation he started a career of an official. In 1946, he moved to

Kadaň Kadaň (; ) is a town in Chomutov District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the banks of the Ohře river. Kadaň is a tourist centre with highlights being the Franciscan Monastery in ...

and started to work in the

Thun Thun () is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the administrative district of Thun (administrative district), Thun in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Bern, Bern in Switzerland. ...

porcelain factory in

Klášterec nad Ohří Klášterec nad Ohří (; ) is a town in Chomutov District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#M ...

. Since 1955 he changed various hard manual jobs. He found fulfillment in visiting natural museums, reading his favourite Kant and Schopenhauer and especially in drawing. He drew a picture every day for tens of years. The communist regime did not allow to display his work and so he was recognized only by a few artists and writers, e.g.

Karel Teige Karel Teige (13 December 1900 – 1 October 1951) was a Czech modernist avant-garde artist, writer, critic and one of the most important figures of the 1920s and 1930s movement. He was a member of the '' Devětsil'' (Butterbur) movement in the ...

, Vratislav Effenberger or Ivo Pondělíček. Several exhibitions took place in Germany and Austria thanks to his friend Gotthard Schwinge. He died on 25 December 1988 in Kadaň. The municipal gallery in Kadaň is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Havlicek, Karel 1907 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Czech painters Czech male painters Painters from Berlin German emigrants to Czechoslovakia 20th-century Czech male artists Charles University alumni