Josef Matěj Navrátil (17 February 1798 – 21 April 1865) was a Czech painter.

Early life

Born in

Slaný Slaný (; ) is a town in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 17,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, ur ...

, Navrátil was trained by his father as a decorator, and after further study 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 ...

became a painter-decorator. He also took numerous trips abroad, particularly to Switzerland.

Career

His wall paintings from this early period still decorate different objects in Prague (including

Prague Castle Prague Castle (; ) is a castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic serving as the official residence and workplace of the president of the Czech Republic. Built in the 9th century, the castle has long served as the seat of power for List of rulers ...

), the Postal Museum in Liběchov,

Ploskovice Ploskovice () is a municipality and village in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants. Administrative division Ploskovice consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population ac ...

, Jirny (with its famous Alpine room) and elsewhere. On the imperial castle in

Zákupy Zákupy (; ) is a town in Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre with the castle is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative di ...

when editing as the future seat of the emperor in the years 1850 - 1853 with the help of assistants decorated the 20 rooms historical 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 ...

paintings, ornaments, and allegorical works. His fame grew, and in 1850 he became president of the Union of Artists. Eleven years later, he had to leave because partially paralyzed as a result of a stroke. He lived in poverty. NavratilStaveni

Legacy

The first comprehensive exhibition of his work took place posthumously in 1909 in 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 ...

. In 1952, he had a street named after him near Charles Square in Prague. He inspired photographer Josef Sudek, which influence appears in the fifties with his still life paintings that reproduce not only for printing, but also for himself. He let them affect the recording of Cologne landscape after World War II created a series of still life by Navrátil in 1954. The art of painter Navrátil has been depicted on at least one postage stamp of Czechoslovakia. On 19 August 1988 Czechoslovakia issued a five koruna stamp depicting the painting "Turin, Monte Superga," located at the Prague Postal Museum. The Scott catalog number for this stamp is 2715. The five koruna stamp was issued with two identical postage stamps in a miniature souvenir sheet issued in commemoration of the Prague '88 International Stamp Exhibition.

Style

Navrátil was superb landscape painter, but most of his work focussed on

still life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

s and figurative paintings and sketches. In his paintings there is a mixing of various styles of sketches, which gets to the point of

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

References

* Jaromír Pečírka: Josef Navrátil. Manes - Melantrich, Prague, 1940. * Josef Navratil and Czech romanticism. Exhibition catalog of paintings J. Navratil and 19 artists from the years 1800 to 1870. Litoměřice June to August 1987. * VV Stech: In the foggy mirror, Czechoslovakian writer, Praha, 1969, pp. 56, 91, 125, 134, 200-203, 215, 218, 225, 239 {{DEFAULTSORT:Navratil, Josef Matej Painters from the Austrian Empire Czech landscape painters 1798 births 1865 deaths People from Slaný Academy of Fine Arts in Prague alumni 19th-century Czech painters 19th-century Czech male artists Czech male painters