19. century
Josef Mánes
the founder of Czech paintings and illustrations
Significant photo
Photogallery
Description
Josef Mánes was an important person for Czech decorative arts and he himself was a master of Czech painting and landscapes. During his youth, he took several important trips to deepen his studies, visiting various places including Dresden, Silesia and Poland. Mánes left Prague for a period of time due to psychological problems to live in a castle with his friend, the Count Bedřich Silva-Tarouca. The castle then passed to the ownership of Count Hugo Jakob Josef Logothetti. Mánes’ mental state
improved since he was able to create his most famous works, for example, “The Cradle,” “Life on a Gentleman’s Estate,” “Honeymoon on the Haná Plain” throughout his several visits to the castle. His works were painted during the 1860s, a period rich in style. He was thus offered the exceptional commission of creating the vignettes on the Old Town Astronomical Clock. Inspired by the Romantic period, his work drew on country life which he considered the ideal of purity and humaneness.
