Exploring the Landscape School and Antonín Mánes’ Artistic Clan

Antonín, who was the founder of the Mánes family of artists, was born in Prague on November 3, 1784. He came from a family of millers—his father, František, possibly migrated to Prague from either Pilsen or Nymburk. He married Dorota Kašparová, who was twenty years younger than him, and he took up work as a brewer at the Šítkovské mills. Little did anyone know that about a century and a half later, a small building dedicated to the Mánes art association, named after the entire family of painters, would be constructed close by. In addition to this organization, they are honored by several places like the Mánes Bridge in Prague and the Mánes Spa located in Karlovy Vary.

Although Antonín had a strong passion for painting, his family couldn’t afford to support his education—this meant that he had to find a way to pay for his studies through hard work. He made a living as a decorative painter, working with majolica and stoneware at a porcelain factory in Smíchov. Thanks to financial aid from the Šternberks, who managed the estate where the Mánes had once lived, he began attending the newly established Landscape School of the Prague Academy of Fine Arts when he was twenty-two. After a while, his younger brother Václav, who was nine years his junior, joined him at the Academy.

Master landscapers

Landscape Painting as a genre originated in the 16th century in the Netherlands, coinciding with advancements in perspective and composition techniques. Landscapes became a significant theme in the works of notable artists such as Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Hieronymus Bosch, and Albrecht Dürer. Different schools of landscape painting emerged, with some focused on depicting landscapes realistically, while others created pleasing, stylized versions filled with calm and harmony.

At the Prague Academy, landscape painting began being taught in 1806, with Karel Postl (1769-1818) serving as the founder of the landscape school. Among his pupils were talented artists like Josef Šembera, Vincenc Morstadt, Josef Bedřich Zwettler, and of course, Antonín Mánes. He eventually became a professor at the Academy, and his brother Václav even temporarily took on the role of acting director on two separate occasions. Antonín led the Academy’s landscape school from 1836 until his passing in 1843.

The Mánes Dynasty

Antonín Mánes was not just an expert landscape painter—he was among the first artists to create outdoor paintings rather than working solely in studios—and he also established a prominent family of artists. In 1815, he married Magdalena Schwidner (1794-1851), whose father was a master carpenter in Prague. Notably, two painters witnessed their wedding: Antonín Machek, who painted a portrait of Antonín Mánes, and the miniaturist Jindřich Schödl.

The couple, along with Antonín’s younger siblings, Sister Anna and Václav, made their home on Goat Street in the Old Town, where they had five children, born at nearly regular intervals. Tragically, two of the children died, but the three who survived were Amalia, Joseph, and Quido. All of them pursued painting: for the men, it was a profession, while for the children, it was more of a hobby. Antonín not only shared his talent with them but also took them on his painting excursions into nature and on summer trips. During the academic summer vacations, he often visited aristocratic estates, where he taught the children of noble families the basics of drawing. At Jezeří Castle, you can see what the estate looked like while Antonín was there, along with the magnificent park that existed at that time instead of the brown coal quarry that is there now.

In 1829, the Mánes family relocated to Malá Strana. Their new home was the former riding hall found in the garden of the Nostický Palace, where the Academy provided Antonín with a service apartment. The garden stretched from Maltese Square all the way down to the Devil’s stream. Before they moved in, František Martin Pelcl, the first professor of Czech language and literature at Charles University, had lived there, as well as the Baroque architect Kryštof Dientzenhofer, and Jindřich Eckert, an old Prague photographer who had his studio in what used to be a forge at the end of Nosticova Street.

Walks with the Mánes

• • Except for Antonín, none of the other Mánes family members married, making the Mánes dynasty begin and end with his children. His brother Václav and his sons Joseph and Quido remained single for their entire lives.

• • The most renowned artist among Antonín’s three children was Josef Mánes (1820-1871), known for being a painter, illustrator, graphic artist, and designer, making significant contributions to Czech Romanticism.

• • Quido Mánes (1828-1880) is remembered for depicting scenes from Prague’s pilgrimages, fiddling events, morning church services, and St. John’s Day. He also created portraits, historical depictions, and especially horses, of which he was said to know a great deal.

• • Amálie Mánesová (1817-1883) was also interested in landscape painting. She never married and took on the responsibility of caring for her siblings after their mother’s death.

• • While none of Mánes’s students surpassed him in skill, among those who studied under Mánes’s successor, Bavarian professor Maximilian Haushofer, were notable artists like Adolf Kosárek, Julius Mařák, and others. Thanks to Mánes’ influence, many of these students preferred themes from Czech meadows and groves, as opposed to the fashionable Alpine and exotic landscapes.

• • The artworks of Antonín Mánes and his children can be found in various museums and galleries, including the National Gallery and the National Museum in Prague, the Museum of the Capital City of Prague, the Regional Gallery in Liberec, the Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava, the Moravian Gallery in Brno, as well as at Český Krumlov Castle and Chateau.