Peter Michal Bohúň (29 September 1822,

Veličná Veličná () is a village and municipality in Dolný Kubín District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia. Name Veličná was first mentioned under the Latin name ''Magna Villa'' in a decree of Ladislaus IV of Hungary from 1272. In the midd ...

- 20 May 1879,

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; ; , ; ) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 166,765 as of December 2022, making it the List of cities and towns in Poland#Largest cities and towns by population, 22nd largest city in Poland, and an a ...

) was a Slovak painter, primarily of portraits, although he also did landscapes and altarpieces.

Biography

His father was a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

minister. He went to the public schools of his village, then attended the gymnasium in

Gemerská Hôrka Gemerská Hôrka () is a village and municipality in the Rožňava District in the Košice Region of middle-eastern Slovakia. History In historical records, the village was first mentioned in 1413. Before the establishment of independent Czechos ...

.Brief biography
@ Osobnosti. In 1836, he was enrolled at the evangelical seminary in

Levoča Levoča (; ; ) is the principal town of Levoča District in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia, with a population of 14,256. The town has a historic center with a well-preserved town wall, a Gothic architecture, Gothic church with the talle ...

. It was there that he first came in contact with the idea of Slovak independence, a cause which he enthusiastically embraced, earning himself the nickname "Slavomil". Due to political unrest, the Hungarian government closed the seminary in 1841, so he moved to

Kežmarok Kežmarok ( or ; , , , ) is a town in the Spiš region of eastern Slovakia (population 16,000), on the Poprad River. Prior to World War I, it was in Szepes county in the Kingdom of Hungary. History Settlement at Kežmarok dates back to the Up ...

, where he studied law and began to paint as a hobby. Franci

In 1843, he decided that he wanted to be an artist and entered 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 ...

. His teacher there was the German history painter, Christian Ruben who, at that time, was also the Academy's Director. His father died in 1844, cutting off his financial support, so he sought and obtained the patronage of a nobleman from Orava named Michał Kubín. In addition to painting, he studied lithography and made some illustrations for the botanical dictionary of

Jan Svatopluk Presl Jan Svatopluk Presl (4 September 1791 – 6 April 1849) was a Czech natural scientist. He was the brother of botanist Carl Borivoj Presl (1794–1852). The Czech Botanical Society commemorated the two brothers by naming its principal publication ...

Slovak nationalism

Shortly after, he joined the Slovak nationalist movement led by

Ľudovít Štúr Ľudovít Štúr (; 28 October 1815 – 12 January 1856), also known as Ľudovít Velislav Štúr, was a Slovak revolutionary, politician, and writer. As a leader of the Slovak nationalism, Slovak national revival in the 19th century and the c ...

, organizing rallies and patriotic meetings during the Slovak Uprising. During that time, through their mutual interest in painting, he met and married the daughter of a local landowner. In 1854, he and his family moved to

Liptovský Mikuláš Liptovský Mikuláš (; until 1952 ''Liptovský Svätý Mikuláš'', ; ) is a town in northern Slovakia, on the Váh River, about from Bratislava. It lies in the Liptov region, in Podtatranská kotlina, Liptov Basin near the Low Tatra and Tat ...

, where he spent eleven years as a drawing teacher at the Lutheran girls' school, dabbled in photography and decorated curtains for amateur theater groups. In 1860, he resumed his patriotic activities and, the following year, participated in the constitutional convention at

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

. In 1863, he was one of the founding members of the

Matica slovenská Matica Slovenská (en. Slovak Matica) is the oldest Slovakia, Slovak national, Culture, cultural and scientific organization. The headquarters of Slovak Matica is the town of Martin, Slovakia as the center of the national culture of Slovak ...

. Deeply in debt, he left Slovakia in 1865 and took his family to

in Galicia. In 1876, he travelled to Italy, in search of his son Ľubor, who had deserted from the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

. His cause of death was given as pneumonia. In 1955, an art gallery bearing his name was opened in Liptovský Mikuláš and, three years later, a statue of him was dedicated in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

. It was sculpted by

Fraňo Štefunko Fraňo Štefunko (born 4 August 1903, Dudváh-Vlčkovce, Slovakia (then Austro-Hungary) – died 6 April 1974, Martin, Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia)), was a sculptor, art pedagogue and editor. In 1932 after his studies of art in Prague he move ...

, who specialized in figures from the Slovak Uprising.

References

External links

More works by Bohúň
@ Web Umenia
The Bohúň Gallery
@ Travel Slovakia {{DEFAULTSORT:Bohun, Peter Michal 1822 births 1879 deaths Slovak portrait painters People from Veličná 19th-century Slovak painters Deaths from pneumonia Painters from the Austrian Empire Painters from Austria-Hungary

Biography

Slovak nationalism

References

Further reading

External links