
Jan Nowopacký or, in German, Johann Novopacky (15 November 1821,
Nechanice
Nechanice (; ) is a town in Hradec Králové District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,500 inhabitants.
Administrative division
Nechanice consists of eight municipal parts (in brackets population according to th ...
– 3 August 1908,
SlavÄ›tÃn) was a Czech landscape painter.
Biography

He was born to a poor family of weavers. He showed creative talent at an early age, playing the flute and violin as well as painting, so his family sought a way to arrange a good education for him. They finally obtained the patronage of Countess von
Harrach
The House of Harrach is the name of an old and influential German nobility, Austro-German noble family, which was also part of the Bohemian nobility. The ''Grafen'' (Counts) of Harrach were among the most prominent families in the Habsburg Empire ...
, who took him to Vienna to study with the portrait painter,
Franz Schrotzberg
Franz Schrotzberg (2 April 1811, Vienna – 29 May 1889, Graz) was an Austrian portrait painter.
Life and work
From 1825 to 1831, he was a student at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Academy of Fine Arts. During his time there, he was awarded ...
.
[Brief biography](_blank)
by David Hertl @ Rozhlas.
After a few lessons, he attempted to gain admission 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 ...
, but was rejected because he did not speak German well enough. He went home to Nechanice, studied hard, reapplied, and was admitted in 1842. From there, he made several study trips to the
Alps
The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.
...
and
Tyrolia. In 1848, he was a participant in the
Revolutions
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elemen ...
and, fearing reprisals, returned to Prague when they failed.
Following his father's death, his financial situation became difficult and he accepted a job as a drawing teacher for the Paars, a notable family that was instrumental in establishing the Austro-Hungarian Postal Service. After two years, in 1851, he took a similar position with the
Count of Hoyos in
Lower Austria
Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...
. His duties there involved travelling in Northern Italy and
Campania
Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...
.
He returned to Vienna in 1861, where he continued to be an art instructor for noble families. After 1869, he was engaged by the Imperial Family and taught painting to Crown Prince
Rudolf. As a result, in 1880, he was appointed Custodian of the Imperial Galleries, a position he held until his retirement in 1895, when he returned to Bohemia to live with his niece in
Ústà nad OrlicÃ
Ústà nad Orlicà (; ) is a town in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument z ...
.

He spent so many years in Vienna that he was generally considered to be an Austrian painter. His first major exhibition in his homeland did not come until 1902.
References
Further reading
* Karel Jaroš (ed.), ''Jan Novopacký : obrazy, kresby'' (exhibition catalog) Municipal Museum of Ústà nad Orlicà (2000)
External links
Arcadja Auctions: More works by Nowopacký
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nowopacky, Jan
1821 births
1908 deaths
People from Nechanice
Landscape painters from Austria-Hungary
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni
Painters from the Austrian Empire