Karel Škréta Šotnovský ze Závořic (1610-1674)

• Was a Czech portrait painter.
• Škréta worked in the Baroque style.
• He was born to a noble Protestant family that originally operated mills in South Bohemia.
• But moved to Kutná Hora, then Prague, where they occupied several official positions.
• He eventually made his way to Italy, spent a few years in Venice studying the works of Veronese, Tintoretto and Titian, then went to Rome in 1634.
• While there, he joined the Bentvueghels (a Dutch painters' association) under the pseudonym "Slagzwaart" (Broadsword).
• In addition to his portraits, he painted altarpieces and other decorations at several churches.
• Finally returned to Prague in 1638, where he converted to Catholicism and sued to regain his property; possibly with the assistance of an influential Jesuit, as he had begun to accept commissions from that order.
• He opened a studio in 1645 and joined the artists' guild, serving as its chairman from 1651 to 1661.
• The displayed painting is a crop from: Karel Škréta, Narození svatého Václava. The Birth of St Wenceslas, 1640.
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