Karel Boromejský Mádl (15 August 1859 – 20 November 1932) was a Czech historian and art critic and a professor at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. He was one of the leading critics of the 1890s.

Life

Mádl graduated from secondary school in

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 ...

and lived in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

from 1880-83, where he attended art history lectures and seminars by Professor R. Eitelberger von Edelberg and M. Thausing at the

Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna The MAK – Museum of Applied Arts (German: ''Museum für angewandte Kunst'') is an arts and crafts museum located at Stubenring 5 in Vienna's 1st district Innere Stadt. Besides its traditional orientation towards arts and crafts and design, the ...

and

Albertina The Albertina is a museum in the Innere Stadt (First District) of Vienna, Austria. It houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and approximately 1 million old master prints, as well ...

. However, there is no evidence that he was a full-time enrolled student. In Vienna, he probably also met the founders of the Viennese School of Art History,

Franz Wickhoff Franz Wickhoff (7 May 1853 – 6 April 1909) was an Austrian art historian, and is considered a member of the Vienna School of Art History. Early life Franz Wickhoff was born on 7 May 1853 in Steyr. He studied at the University of Vienna under ...

, and the first headmaster of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design, Františka Schmoranze. In 1883 and 1884, Mádl visited

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and then from 1884 he stayed in Vienna. From 1886, he collaborated with the newly founded Ruch Gallery and from 1888 he was an associate editor of '' Otto's encyclopedia.'' He took numerous trips abroad to study. Mádl passionately believed in the need for an art school in Prague, and he became an associate professor of textile art and the secretary of the school when it was established in 1886. Mádl then became the successor to Otakar Hostinsky, the lecturer on history of art, and was appointed full professor and administrator of the library. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Mádl paused his work for the art school. In 1917, he was appointed vice-chairman of the Modern Art Gallery in Prague and was a member of the commission for the return of Bohemian scholars from abroad. He was also a member of various arts societies. Mádl died of diabetes on 20 November 1932, at the age of 73.

Work

Mádl's approach to art history marked a move away from the previous generations'. It incorporated formal analysis, archaeology, and emphasised precise determination of a work's author and time and place of origin. Mádl's influence shaped new artistic commissions, such as the

Jan Hus Memorial The Jan Hus Memorial () stands at one end of Old Town Square, Prague in the Czech Republic. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus in the wake of the lost Battle of ...

created by Ladislav Šaloun. Mádl resented German cultural dominance. He advocated engagement with the 'progressive currents of French art' and 'bemoaned the German appropriation of Prague.' Mádl was a notable critic and contributor to many magazines and publications. From 1887, he published regularly in Archaeological Monuments. He began publishing an Overview of Art History from Antiquity to the Present, which was unfinished at the time of his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madl, Karel Boromejsky 1932 deaths 1859 births People from Nový Bydžov Czechoslovak critics Czech art critics Czech art historians Academic staff of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague Historians from Austria-Hungary