František Dvořák (painter)
František Dvořák, born Bruner, also known as Franz Dvorak or Franz Bruner (14 November 1862, Přelouč - 7 June 1927, Prague) was a Czech painter.
Life and work
He was the son of a tailor named Václav Bruner. He later changed his name to "Dvořák", possibly for patriotic reasons. He displayed artistic talent from an early age, and when he was fourteen his father sent him to the pedagogical institute in Kutná Hora. At the age of seventeen, his desire for an artistic career led him to the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague, where he studied with František Čermák.[1] However, feeling that his studies were progressing too slowly, he switched to the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, where his teachers were Christian Griepenkerl and Carl Wurzinger.
In 1883, he moved to the
In 1888, ever restless, he joined with fellow painters
In 1905, he returned to Prague, establishing a home and studio on the riverside where he lived until his death. During his stay in the United States, he had come into contact with the New Spirituality and attempted to integrate Eastern spirituality into his paintings. He also did portraits of Ramakrishna and Sarada Devi. His interests influenced his sister Helena, who translated several occult classics into Czech.[3] For much of his life, he was better known abroad than at home. His first major exhibition in Prague did not come until 1907.[1]
Selected paintings
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In the Orchard (1912)
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The Siblings (1912)
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Reader (1906)
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At the Races (1892)
References
- ^ a b c J. Diviš. "Úvod k výstavě obrazů Fr. Dvořáka" [Introduction to the exhibition of paintings Fr. Dvorak] – via Czech Wikisource.
- ^ "Náš krajan, chvalně známý pastelista Frantiček Dvořák, nalézá se právě ve Filadelfii..." [Our compatriot, well-known and highly praised pastelista Frantiček Dvořák, is situated right in Philadelphia ...]. Zlatá Praha Vol.6, #31. June 21, 1889.
- )
Further reading
- Toman Prokop, Nový slovník československých výtvarných umělců (New Dictionary of Czechoslovak Artists, Vol.1, 3rd edition, edited by Rudolf Ryšavý, Prague, 1947
- Marie Rakušanová, Bytosti odnikud : metamorfózy akademických principů v malbě první poloviny 20. století v Čechách (Being Out of Nowhere: the Metamorphosis of the Principles of Academic Painting in the First Half of the 20th Century in Bohemia), Academia, Prague, 2008 ISBN 978-80-200-1648-5