Jaroslav Čermák (1 September 1830 – 23 April 1878) 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 known primarily for his
history painting
History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...
s. Many of his paintings are in the collection of the
National Gallery in Prague
The National Gallery Prague ( cz, Národní galerie Praha, NGP), formerly the National Gallery in Prague (), is a state-owned art gallery in Prague, which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic and presents masterpieces of Cze ...
.
Biography
Čermák was born in
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 ...
. His birth house at ''Betlémské náměstí 10'' (Betlémské Square No. 10) has since been decorated with a commemorative statue of a girl crowned with laurel and with a golden inscription of his surname. As a child, Čermák suffered an injury of the
hip
In vertebrate anatomy, hip (or "coxa"Latin ''coxa'' was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77) in medical terminology) refers to either an anatomical region or a joint.
The hip region is ...
, and due to subsequent complications he spent a part of his childhood strapped to the bed in a narrow chest. This accident apparently inspired his artistic beginnings, as while in bed, deprived of the possibility of moving, he found an interest in drawing. Histitle family was involved in arts patronage; his mother supported anonymously the renowned Czech writer
Božena Němcová
Božena Němcová () (4 February 1820 in Vienna – 21 January 1862 in Prague) was a Czech writer of the final phase of the ''Czech National Revival'' movement.
Her image is featured on the 500 CZK denomination of the Česká koruna.
Biograph ...
Christian Ruben
Christoph Christian Ruben (November 30, 1805 – July 9, 1875) was a German painter.
Born in Trier, Ruben studied in Düsseldorf under Peter von Cornelius from 1823, and in 1826 settled in Munich, where he worked on the designs for the new stain ...
. It was Čermák's desire to be a history painter; as he felt that the training in
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 ...
would be insufficient, he traveled to
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
, where he studied with
Gustave Wappers
Egide Charles Gustave, Baron Wappers (23 August 18036 December 1874) was a Belgian painter. His work is generally considered to be Flemish and he signed his work with the Dutch form of his name, Gustaaf Wappers.Note: The painter is known by one ...
and
Louis Gallait
Louis Gallait (9 or 10 May 1810 – 20 November 1887) was a Belgian painter. He lay at the basis of a revival of history painting in Belgium. He earned his reputation especially with the large painting of Charles V's abdication. Gallait's works ...
. In 1852 he settled in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
; however, he travelled widely through Europe and often returned to his homeland. He frequently visited
Montenegro
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, and in 1862 he fought alongside Herzegovina chieftains and their soldiers in
Herzegovina uprising (1875–1877)
The Herzegovina uprising ( sr, Херцеговачки устанак, Hercegovački ustanak) was an uprising led by Christian Serb population, against the Ottoman Empire, firstly and predominantly in Herzegovina (hence its name), from wher ...
. For his courage in battle he was awarded a medal by
Nicholas I of Montenegro
Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš ( sr-cyr, Никола I Петровић-Његош; – 1 March 1921) was the last monarch of Montenegro from 1860 to 1918, reigning as prince from 1860 to 1910 and as the country's first and only king from 1910 to 19 ...
, whose guest he frequently was. One of the streets in
Podgorica
Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...
was named after him. In 1874 he designed and built his own house in Paris.
Through his sister Marie, Čermák was the brother-in-law of
Olšany Cemetery
Olšany Cemeteries (''Olšanské hřbitovy'' in Czech, ''Wolschan'' in German) is the largest graveyard in Prague, Czech Republic, once laid out for as many as two million burials. The graveyard is particularly noted for its many remarkable art ...
in Prague.
Style
He was influenced by the work of
Peter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
. During his stay in Paris he encountered
Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...
and
Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps
Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps (March 3, 1803August 22, 1860) was a French painter noted for his Orientalist works.
Life
Decamps was born in Paris. In his youth he travelled in the East, and reproduced Oriental life and scenery with a bold fidelity to ...
and became familiar with their works. Many of his paintings depicted scenes from Czech history; he was, however, also interested in subjects from
Montenegro
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, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
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and
Old Herzegovina
Old Herzegovina ( sr, Стара Херцеговина, Stara Hercegovina) is a historical region, covering the eastern parts of historical Herzegovina, outside the scope of modern Herzegovina. A large section of ''Old Herzegovina'' belongs to ...
, and one of his most famous works is ''The Wounded Montenegrin''. His works are influenced by
Romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
. As an important artistic exponent of the
Czech National Revival
The Czech National Revival was a cultural movement which took place in the Czech lands during the 18th and 19th centuries. The purpose of this movement was to revive the Czech language, culture and national identity. The most prominent figures o ...
, he actively participated in the emancipation efforts of Czechs and other small European nations. The themes of his works bear the stamp of anti-
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
stance. Čermák painted
portrait
A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...
s and genre pieces in addition to history paintings.
Hussites
The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation.
The Hussit ...
Defending a Pass
File:Cermak, Jaroslav - Protireformace (1854).jpg,
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...
(1854)
File:Jaroslav Cermak Montenegrinerin.jpg, Montenegrin (1865)
File:Jaroslav Čermák - Indian.jpg, Indian.
File:1473 R a Čermák.jpg, Hercegovka.