Karel Škréta Šotnovský ze Závořic (1610 – 1674) 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'
Places
* Czech, ...
portrait painter who worked in the
Baroque style. He lived through the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
which caused him some hardships as a
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
which led him to leave
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
for
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
then Italy.
Biography
He was born to a noble Protestant family that originally operated mills in
South Bohemia
The South Bohemian Region ( cs, Jihočeský kraj; , ) is an administrative unit (''kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia. The western part ...
, but moved to
Kutna Hora, then
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
, where they occupied several official positions. His father died when he was only three, and he was commended to the care of the local schools, where he received a thorough classical education. It is uncertain where he learned painting, although he probably studied at the
Royal Court
A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...
, where he would have worked with
Aegidius Sadeler
Aegidius Sadeler or Aegidius Sadeler II (1570–1629) was a Flemish engraver who was principally active at the Prague court of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor and his successors.
Life
Sadeler was born in Antwerp in the Sadeler family of print deale ...
.
[Biography](_blank)
from '' Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' @ German Wikisource.
During this time, the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
had begun and Prague was taken by Catholic forces. Protestants were tolerated at first, but a major conversion effort was initiated in 1627 and, the following year, he fled with his mother to
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
. He eventually made his way to Italy, spent a few years in Venice studying the works of
Veronese,
Tintoretto
Tintoretto ( , , ; born Jacopo Robusti; late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594) was an Italian painter identified with the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized the speed wit ...
and
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, nea ...
, then went to Rome in 1634. While there, he joined the
Bentvueghels (a Dutch painters' association) under the pseudonym "Slagzwaart" (Broadsword).
By this time, he had already established himself as a portrait painter. After about a year he went back to Saxony and finally returned to Prague in 1638, where he converted to Catholicism and sued to regain his property; possibly with the assistance of an influential
Jesuit, as he had begun to accept commissions from that order.
He opened a studio in 1645 and joined the artists' guild, serving as its chairman from 1651 to 1661.
In addition to his portraits, he painted altarpieces and other decorations at several churches, including the
Church of Our Lady before Týn
The Church of Mother of God before Týn (in Czech ''Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem'', also ''Týnský chrám'' (''Týn Church'') or just ''Týn''), often translated as Church of Our Lady before Týn, is a Gothic church and a dominant feature ...
, the
Church of Saint Procopius, Žižkov
St. Procopius Church (Czech: ''Kostel svatého Prokopa'') is the parish church of the district of Žižkov in Prague, Czech Republic. Dedicated to the patron saint of Bohemia, Procopius of Sázava, the three-aisled Neo-Gothic church, located at Sl ...
and
St. Wenceslas Church in Zderaz. Numerous streets have been named after him; in
Vinohrady
Královské Vinohrady (in English literally "Royal Vineyards" german: Königliche Weinberge) is a cadastral district in Prague. It is so named because the area was once covered in vineyards dating from the 14th century. Vinohrady lies in the muni ...
,
Brno,
Ostrava
Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four riv ...
,
Olomouc
Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019).
Located on t ...
,
Ústí nad Labem
Ústí nad Labem (, , ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of its eponymous region and district. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway ju ...
,
Jihlava
Jihlava (; german: Iglau) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 50,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia.
Historically, Jihlava ...
,
Česká Lípa
Česká Lípa (; german: Böhmisch Leipa) is a town in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 37,000 inhabitants and it is the most populated town of the Czech Republic without city status. The town centre is well preserved and is p ...
,
Litoměřice,
Vysoké Mýto
Vysoké Mýto (; german: Hohenmaut, also ''Hohenmauth'') is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. Its town square is the largest example of its type in the country. ...
,
Hořice
Hořice (, also known as Hořice v Podkrkonoší; german: Horschitz) is a town in Jičín District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,600 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
Villages of Březovice, Chlum, Chvalina, ...
,
Lysá nad Labem
Lysá nad Labem (; german: Lissa an der Elbe) is a town in Nymburk District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,700 inhabitants. It is situated on the Elbe river. The town centre is well preserved and is protected b ...
,
Řevnice
Řevnice () is a town in Prague-West District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,600 inhabitants.
Geography
Řevnice lies about southwest of Prague. It lies on both banks of the river Berounka. Most of the town ...
,
Žatec
Žatec (; german: Saaz) is a town in Louny District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře river. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monumen ...
and
Plzeň.
He is also the subject of two theatrical works (both called ''Karel Škréta''). The first is a comedy, written in 1841 by . The second is a
comic opera
Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue.
Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...
, based on Svoboda's play, written in 1883 by
Karel Bendl, to a
libretto by
Eliška Krásnohorská
Eliška Krásnohorská (18 November 1847, in Prague – 26 November 1926, in Prague) was a Czech feminist author. She was introduced to literature and feminism by Karolína Světlá. She wrote works of lyric poetry and literary criticism, however ...
. Although his art plays a role in the plots (especially at the climax), they feature romantic and political intrigues that end in murder.
Selected paintings
File:Karel Škréta - Paris a Helena.jpg, Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
and Helen
Helen may refer to:
People
* Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world
* Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress
* Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Helen, ...
File:Karel Škréta - The Family of Precious Stone Cutter Dionysius Miseroni - Google Art Project.jpg, The Stonecutter Dionysio Miseroni
and His Family
File:C.1640 painting by Karel Škréta.jpg, The Mathematician
and His Wife
File:Karel Škréta - Portrét malíře miniatur Joachima Sandrarta (1630-1640).jpg, Portrait of a Miniaturist (Joachim von Sandrart
Joachim von Sandrart (12 May 1606 – 14 October 1688) was a German Baroque art-historian and painter, active in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age. He is most significant for his collection of biographies of Dutch and German artists the '' T ...
?)
File:Karel Škréta - Portrait of Ignác Jetřich Vitanovský of Vlčkovice.jpg, Ignác Jetřich Vitanovský of Vlčkovice
References
Further reading
* Jaromír Neumann, ''Škrétové'', Akropolis, 2000
* Lenka Stolárová and Vít Vlnas, ''Karel Škréta (1610–1674): Doba a dílo'', (exhibition catalog) Národní galerie v Praze, 2010
External links
*
Matthias Tanner: ''Societas Jesu Usque ad Sanguinem Pro Deo, Et Fide Christiana militans Pragae : Typis Universitatis Carolo-Ferdinandeae, in Collegio Societatis Jesu ad S. Clementem'' (1675?) with illustrations by Karel Škréta,
Jan Jiří Heinsch
Jan Jiří Heinsch or Heintsch (german: Johann Georg Heinsch; c. 1647 – September 9, 1712) was a Czech-German Baroque style artist. Heinsch primarily painted religious-themed works (including altarpieces) as well as portraits of monastic superi ...
and
Melchior Küsel. Digitalized onlin
by the
Moravian Library
Moravian Library (Czech: ''Moravská zemská knihovna'') is the second largest library in the Czech Republic. Located in Brno, Czech Republic, it is a universal research library and the regional library of the South Moravian Region
The South ...
.
ArtNet: More works by Škréta.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skreta, Karel
1610 births
1674 deaths
17th-century Bohemian people
17th-century painters
Baroque painters
Czech painters
Czech male painters
Czech portrait painters
Czech baroque painters
Members of the Bentvueghels
Czech expatriates in Germany
Czech expatriates in Italy
Artists from Prague