🖌️🎨 František Tkadlík (1786-1840)

 🖌️🎨 František Tkadlík (1786-1840) - Czech artist and graphic artist, lithographer, teacher, graphic artist, draftsman.
František Tkadlík was born into a family of an innkeeper. He began to draw in early childhood. Two drawing teachers lived in his parents' house, which apparently influenced his further choice of profession. After his family and relatives approved of his choice and František graduated from high school, in 1803 he entered the Prague Academy of Fine Arts, later he studied philosophy at Charles University.
The artist was influenced by the ideas of the Czech National Revival. For several years, he enjoyed the patronage of Count Johann Rudolf Czernin, who financed F. Tkadlík's studies at the Academy until 1807.
From 1817 to 1825 he served as a court painter to the Counts of Czernin, and also as the keeper of their picture gallery in Vienna. In Vienna, Tkadlik maintained contact with Czech scholars living there (for example, with Josef Dobrovsky and František Palacký, whose portraits he painted).
In 1824, after finishing his work in Vienna, Tkadlik received a scholarship to travel to Rome.
In 1832, the artist returned to Vienna, and in 1836 - to Prague, where he became the first director of the Prague Academy of Fine Arts. He had many students, among them the classic of Czech painting Josef Manes, the historical painter Karel Javurek and Arthur von Ramberg.
The artist's canvases, created in the styles of classicism and empire, can be divided into several periods by theme. The first, which lasted until F. Tkadlik's trip to Vienna, is full of portraits of famous representatives of Prague.
During the second, Viennese period, the artist mainly creates portraits of members of the Czernin family, his Czech acquaintances who lived in Vienna, and paintings of patriotic content.
In the third period, in Italy, Tkadlik paints biblical canvases and landscapes. 

After his return to the Czech Republic, he mainly works on paintings of historical, patriotic content.

Source: patriksimon.cz; arthousehejtmanek.cz.