Mikoláš Aleš (18 November 1852 – 10 July 1913) 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, ...

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 ...

.Mikolas Ales' childhood in Mirotice
/ref> Aleš is estimated to have had over 5,000 published pictures; he painted for everything from

magazines A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

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textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textboo ...

s. His paintings were not publicized too widely outside

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, but many of them are still available, and he is regarded as one of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

's greatest artists.

Biography

Aleš was born in

Mirotice Mirotice (german: Mirotitz) is a town in Písek District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,200 inhabitants. It is known as the birthplace of Mikoláš Aleš. Administrative parts Villages of Bořice, Jarotice, Luč ...

near

Písek Písek (; german: Pisek) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Písek is colloquially called "''South ...

, into a relatively rich family that was in debt at the time. He was taught history by his brother František until the latter's death in 1865; he expressed interest in painting at an early age. In 1879 he married Marina Kailová and moved to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

where he continued his career in painting. He moved back to

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 ...

to work on the new artwork at the

Prague National Theatre The National Theatre ( cs, Národní divadlo) in Prague is known as the alma mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art. The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a ri ...

along with other notable painters. Aleš died in Prague at the age of 60.

Legacy

Aleš is probably best known today as being one of the painters (the other being

František Ženíšek František Ženíšek (25 May 1849 – 15 November 1916) was a Czech painter. He was part of the "" (Generation of the National Theater), a large group of artists with nationalistic sympathies. Biography He was born in Prague into a family of m ...

) that redecorated the famous foyer of the Czech National Theatre. Aleš did gain fame during his lifetime, especially for his architectural artwork but his paintings were mostly only praised after his death. Now many streets in the Czech Republic are named after Aleš. Aleš's work, while not embraced by the German

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

who controlled the

Czech lands The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands ( cs, České země ) are the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia. Together the three have formed the Czech part of Czechoslovakia since 1918, the Czech Socialist Republic since 1 ...

from 1938 to 1945, was used extensively for propaganda purposes by the later

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

regime especially during the 1950s. He was voted #89 in a 2005 poll regarding the most important

. Descendant of his brother in law Otto Kail is the former President of the Czech Republic

Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the secon ...

References

External links

Mikoláš Aleš
o
artmuseum.cz
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ales, Mikolas 1852 births 1913 deaths People from Mirotice People from the Kingdom of Bohemia 19th-century Czech painters 19th-century Czech male artists Czech male painters 20th-century Czech painters 20th-century Czech male artists Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery

Biography

Legacy

See also

References

External links