Cyprián Majerník (24 November 1909, Veľké Kostoľany – 4 July 1945,

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

) was a Slovak painter who worked in Prague; associated with the "Generation of 1909".

Biography

He had his primary education in

Pezinok Pezinok (; in the local dialect ''Pezinek''; ; ; ) is a town in southwestern Slovakia. It is roughly northeast of Bratislava and, as of December 2023, had a population of 24,443. Pezinok lies near the Little Carpathians and thrives mainly on vi ...

then, in 1924, attended the secondary school in

Košice Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...

, where he studied economics. After deciding on art as a career, he went to

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

to take private lessons from the

Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

painter Gustáv Mallý. After acquiring the basics, he enrolled at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Prague The Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (; AVU) is an art college in Prague, Czech Republic. Founded in 1799, it is the oldest art college in the country. The school offers twelve master's degree programs and one doctoral program. History Starting ...

, where he studied under and

Jakub Obrovský Jakub Obrovský (December 24, 1882 – March 31, 1949) was a Czechoslovak artist, sculptor and writer. Biography Jakub Obrovský was born in Brno- Bystrc. He studied at the School of Applied Arts in Prague with Celda Klouček, EK Liška and ...

.Brief biography
@ Slovenské Dotyky. Upon graduation, he settled in Prague. In 1932, he took a brief trip to Paris, where he came under the influence of

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

and

Giorgio de Chirico Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( ; ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the art movement, which profoundly influenced the surrealists. His ...

. In Prague, he became part of a circle of painters that included , and . Although he centered his career there, he made numerous trips to Slovakia to visit his family and hold exhibitions. About this time, he was diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

. Nevertheless, his work was energized by his opposition to

Fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

. By 1942, this was virtually his only theme, as he protested the prison camps, death marches and other evils perpetrated by the Nazi régime. The figure of

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

was a recurring motif of continued resistance, despite overwhelming odds against success. Following the Soviet liberation of Prague in May, 1945, the Umělecká beseda (an artists' association) gave him a certificate of political reliability. At that time, he also married his long-time companion, Karla, and applied for an apartment permit. Not long after, he committed suicide by jumping from a window. It is unknown what the immediate cause may have been, but he had recently experienced short bouts of depression, related to the increasing difficulty involved in holding and manipulating brushes. A major retrospective was held the following year. In 1991, he was posthumously awarded the

Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk The Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk () is an order (decoration), Order of the Czech Republic and the former Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1990 after the Velvet Revolution, and re-established in 1994 (following the dissolution of Czechosl ...

by President Vaclav Havel. A showing in honor of his 100th birthday was presented at Mirbach Palace in 2009. Two years later, in a controversial move, his space at

Vyšehrad cemetery Established in 1869 on the grounds of Vyšehrad Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, the Vyšehrad Cemetery () is the final resting place of many composers, artists, sculptors, writers, and those from the world of science and politics. The center ...

was sold to , a businessman and sports club owner, and his remains were relocated to the

National Cemetery in Martin The National Cemetery () in Martin, Slovakia is the final resting place of many important personalities of Slovak history. The list includes writers, poets, national activists, pedagogues, etc. The reason why Martin was selected as the site for t ...

."Ze skandálního kšeftu s hroby na Vyšehradě je světová ostuda"
(The scandalous illegal deal with graves at Vyšehrad is the world's shame). Story by Ivan Motýl from ''

Týden ''Týden'' (literally 'week') is a Czech weekly news magazine which focuses mainly on news and news analysis. It has been in circulation in 1994. History and profile ''Týden'' was founded in 1994 and soon became part of the Axel Springer AG med ...

''.

Selected paintings

Majernik-Samaritan.jpg, The

Good Samaritan In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil. The specific meaning and etymology of the term and its ...

Majernik-Clairvoyant.jpg, The

Clairvoyant Clairvoyance (; ) is the claimed ability to acquire information that would be considered impossible to get through scientifically proven sensations, thus classified as extrasensory perception, or "sixth sense". Any person who is claimed to ...

Majernik-Singers.jpg, Singers Majernik-Prisoners.jpg, Prisoners

References

External links

More works by Majerník
@ Webumania
Cyprián Majerník Gallery
@ Muzeum.sk {{DEFAULTSORT:Majernik, Cyprian 1909 births 1945 suicides 20th-century Slovak painters Slovak Expressionist painters People with multiple sclerosis Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Artists who died by suicide People from Piešťany District Burials at National Cemetery in Martin Suicides by jumping in the Czech Republic Suicides in Czechoslovakia 1945 deaths Slovak people with disabilities Artists with disabilities

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links