Exhibition Of The Works And Life Of Mikolas Ales

Exhibition Of The Works And Life Of Mikolas Ales has been opened at the "Jizdarna" at the Prague castle

This famous painter, illustrator and graphic artist was born on Nov. 18, 1852 in Mirotice. After studying at the Academy of Arts he devoted himself to portraying famous figures and happenings in Czech history, e.g. King Jiri of Podebrady, the warrior Zizka, the Hussite Camp and others. In the year 1879 he won the competition to decorate the foyer of the National Theater in Prague and produced for it 14 paintings entitled "Fatherland" (Vlast). Thus he became one of the most famous and beloved artists in the national- historical tradition following Josef Manes and others. After the 1880's he devoted himself more to creating illustrations for historical novels of Alois Jirasek, K. V. Rais, J. Arbes, etc. He also illustrated a book of Czech folk songs, folk sayings, proverbs and nursery rhymes and his work appeared in many journals and magazines.

Ales was also very active in the society of artists. He was elected President of the Association of Artists entitled Manes and became - at the end of his life -also interested in the Secession artistic style that was fashionable at the end of the 19th century. His work helped to create the Czech national identity. He died on July 10, 1913.

This extensive exhibition will be open until April 20, 2008.