Mikoláš Aleš
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Mikoláš Aleš (November 18, 1852 in Mirotice near Písek - July 10, 1913 in Praha) was a Czech painter.[1]
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[edit] Biography
Aleš was born in 1852 in Mirotice into a relatively rich family that was in debt at the time.[1] He was taught history by his brother František until his death in 1865, he expressed interest in painting at an early age. In 1879 he got married to Marina Kailová and moved to Italy where he continued his career in painting.[2] He moved back to Prague working on the new artwork at the Prague National Theatre, he died in Prague at the age of 60.
[edit] Paintings
Aleš is estimated to have had over 5,000 published pictures, he has painted for everything from magazines to playing cards to textbooks. His paintings were not publicized too widely outside Bohemia but many of them are still available and Mikoláš Aleš is certainly regarded as one of the country's best painters.[3]
[edit] Legacy
Aleš is probably best known today as being one of the painters (the other being František Ženíšek) that redecorated the famous foyer of the Czech National Theatre.[4] Aleš did gain fame during his lifetime, especially for his architectural artwork but his paintings were praised after his death. Now many streets in the Czech Republic are named after Aleš. He was voted #89 in a poll regarding the most important Czech.[5]
[edit] References
