František Mořic Nágl (28 May 1889, Kostelní Myslová – October 1944,

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

) was a Czech landscape and

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

painter of Jewish ancestry. He and his entire family were murdered in

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

Biography

His family owned a farm and the local mill. He began his education in

Telč Telč (; ) is a town in Jihlava District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,100 inhabitants. The town is well known for its historic centre, which is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservatio ...

. On the recommendation of his secondary school teachers, he was enrolled at the

Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague The Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (AAAD, , abbreviated VŠUP, also known as UMPRUM) is a public university located in Prague, Czech Republic. The university offers the study disciplines of painting, illustration and graphics, ...

, where he studied from 1905 to 1908.Brief biography
@ the Telč website. He then transferred to the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

and became a student of

Hanuš Schwaiger Hanuš Johann Peter Paul Schwaiger (28 June 1854 – 17 June 1912) was a painter, designer, graphic artist and professor, best known for his fairy-tale illustrations. He was from Bohemia. Biography He was the only son of six children born to ...

."František Mořic Nágl se vrátil"
@ Holocaust.cz After graduating, he took up residence in Vienna. During World War I, he was called up for service, fought on the Balkan Front, and was seriously wounded in the right shoulder. Following surgery, he was able to recover the use of his hand, but always required a prop to hold up his arm. Nagl-Market

Despite this, he was determined to continue painting but, as the only son, his ailing father wanted him to take over the family farm. Nágl deferred to his father's wishes and settled into a farmer's life. He still made time for painting, however, and was able to participate in an exhibition at the

Rudolfinum The Rudolfinum is a building in Prague, Czech Republic. It is designed in the neo-Renaissance style and is situated on Jan Palach Square on the bank of the river Vltava. Since its opening in 1885, it has been associated with music and art. C ...

not long after. In 1920, he married a violinist named Vlasta Nettelová. He drew his inspiration from the countryside and village life and his reputation as a "peasant painter" increased during the 1920s and 1930s. This led to major exhibitions in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

in 1933 and

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

in 1937. In 1939, he and his family were evicted from the farm and their property was seized. For two years, they rented an apartment in Telč then, in 1941, he was arrested by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

while working at his easel in the town square. He was imprisoned in Brno until May, 1942, when his entire family was transported to

Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

. Later, they were transferred to Auschwitz, where they were all murdered over the course of two years. During his time at Theresienstadt, he continued to create drawings and watercolors, but no one knew of their existence until 1950, when they were discovered in the bricked-up attic of a house that was undergoing reconstruction. A year later, they were presented at a major exhibition sponsored by the

Mánes Union of Fine Arts The Mánes Association of Fine Artists ( or ''S.V.U.''; commonly abbreviated as ''Manes'') was an artists' association and exhibition society founded in 1887 in Prague and named after painter Josef Mánes. The Manes was significant for its in ...

. Exhibitions have also been held in Telč and Prague. A plaque in his honor has been placed where he was arrested in the Telč town square.

References

External links

Memorial plaque
with brief biography @ Spolek pro vojenská pietní místa (Vets.cz)

@ Wildtramper {{DEFAULTSORT:Nagl, Frantisek 1889 births 1944 deaths People from Jihlava District Artists from the Margraviate of Moravia 20th-century Czech painters Czech landscape painters Jewish painters Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Czech Jews who died in the Holocaust Czech people who died in Auschwitz concentration camp Czech male painters 20th-century Czech male artists Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague alumni