Lot 559: ULLIK Hugo (14. 5. 1838 Prague - 9. 1. 1881

ULLIK Hugo (14. 5. 1838 Prague - 9. 1. 1881 Prague) Alpine lake Oil on canvas, 41 x 73 cm, framed, dated 1875, signed lower left. This painting is an example of Ullik's favourite subject - Alpine scenery - introduced by his teacher Max Haushofer, who came from Bavaria and taught landscape painting at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts. Motifs from the Alps became popular mainly in the period of late Romanticism. Ullik focused on the ideal composition of the painting and the dramatic palette. He also paid attention to details of the vegetation in the foreground. Czech landscape painter, he studied under M. Haushofer at the Academy of Arts in Prague and under E. Schleich in Munich. In the 1860s he travelled around Europe, he was active in Munich till 1877 and after his return to Prague he worked as a stage designer (e.g. in 1878 he created the scene for Smetana's opera The Secret). He also produced illustrations for Kvety and Svetozor, from 1858 he exhibited with Krasoumna jednota. He was influenced by German Romantic landscape painting as regards his choice of subject matter and palette. He is known for his paintings depicting the picturesque scenery around Salzburg, Munich and Prague, views of the Alps, the Krkonose and Sumava mountains. In line with the Romantic movement he created many paintings of Czech and Moravian castles and townscapes, nowadays also appreciated for their documentary value. See T 2/618, TB 33/555, B 10/335, NECVU 2/877.