Karel Špillar (21 November 1871, Pilsen - 7 April 1939,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

) was a Czech painter and graphic artist.

Biography

His father, Antonín, was a financial officer for the city of Pilsen. His brothers,

Jaroslav Jaroslav (also written as Yaroslav or Jarosław in other Slavic languages) is a Czech and Slovak first name, pagan in origin. There are several possible origins of the name Jaroslav. It is very likely that originally the two elements of the nam ...

and Rudolf, also became painters. After completing his primary education, he became a student at the

School of Applied Arts A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

. From 1885 to 1893, he studied decorative painting with František Ženíšek, as did Jaroslav. Shortly after graduating, he received his first commission; an

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting ...

for a chapel in

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four ri ...

. The following years were mostly devoted to small orders, but he returned to large decorative paintings in 1899, when he collaborated with

Jan Preisler Jan Preisler (17 February 1872, in Králův Dvůr – 27 April 1918, in Prague) was a Czech painter and art professor. Life Jan Preisler’s family worked in the local iron foundry and he attended the nearby primary schools. From an early age, ...

on panels for the pavilion of the Czech Chamber of Commerce at the upcoming

Exposition Universelle Exposition (also the French for exhibition) may refer to: *Universal exposition or World's Fair *Expository writing **Exposition (narrative) *Exposition (music) *Trade fair * ''Exposition'' (album), the debut album by the band Wax on Radio *Exposi ...

in Paris. He worked with Preisler again, at the Central Hotel in Prague, then with Jaroslav in the meeting hall at the Italian Court in

Kutná Hora Kutná Hora (; medieval Czech: ''Hory Kutné''; german: Kuttenberg) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The centre of Kutná Hora, including the Sedlec Abbey and its ossuary, was designa ...

(1901). During this time, he became an active member of 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 inte ...

. In 1902, he organized an exhibition for them in Paris and designed the posters.Marta Sylvestrová: "Ohlasy Vídně v plakátové tvorbě v Čechách" (Responses to Vienna in poster production in the Czech Republic). In, Miroslav Ambrož, (ed.): ''Vídeňská secese a moderna 1900-1925''. MG Brno, 2005, pp. 220-236 He settled in Paris for a time, and made several trips to

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. There, he was influenced by the works of

Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Beau ...

, which was reflected in his entry at a competition to design a new curtain for the

Vinohrady Theatre Vinohrady Theatre ( cs, Divadlo na Vinohradech) is a theatre in Vinohrady, Prague. Construction began on February 27, 1905. It served as the Theatre of the Czechoslovak Army from autumn 1950 to January 1966. It contains a curtain painted by Vl ...

in 1905. His design came in at second place.Jiří Valenta (ed.): ''Malované opony divadel českých zemí'' (Painted curtains of theaters of the Czech lands), NIPOS, Praha 2010 He returned home in 1908, prompted by the death of his father and Jaroslav's worsening illness. In 1909, he created one of his most prominent works, "Tribute to Prague", on the façade of the

Municipal House Municipal House ( cs, Obecní dům) is a civic building that houses Smetana Hall, a celebrated concert venue, in Prague. It is located on Náměstí Republiky next to the Powder Gate in the centre of the city. History The Royal Court palace u ...

. After 1913, he worked at the School of Applied Arts as a teacher of nude drawing. In 1925, he was appointed a Professor. After Jaroslav's death in 1917, he spent his holidays at his brother's villa in Pec pod Čerchovem, sketching landscapes. He died after a long illness and was interred at the

Vinohrady Cemetery Vinohrady Cemetery ( cs, Vinohradský hřbitov) is a large cemetery in Vinohrady in Prague 10 which contains Strašnice Crematorium. It is the second largest cemetery in Prague and is registered in the state list of cultural monuments. The remains ...

. His works were largely forgotten from 1948 to 1980, when a retrospective was held and interest in him was renewed.

Selected paintings

Spillar-Rest.jpg, At Rest Spillar-Beach.jpg, On the Beach Spillar-Judgement.jpg, The

Judgement of Paris Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle su ...

Spillar-Dressing.jpg, Dressing Up

References

External links

More works by Špillar
@ ArtNet
Works by and about Špillar
@ the

National Library of the Czech Republic The National Library of the Czech Republic ( cs, Národní knihovna České republiky) is the central library of the Czech Republic. It is directed by the Ministry of Culture. The library's main building is located in the historical Clementinum ...

Entry on Karel Špillar
@ AbART {{DEFAULTSORT:Spillar, Karel 1871 births 1939 deaths Czech painters Decorative arts Art Nouveau Poster artists Artists from Plzeň

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links