Ivan Mrkvička: life and works

Ivan Mrkvička (born Jan Václav Mrkvička; Bulgarian: Иван Мърквичка) (23 April 1856 – 16 May 1938) was a Czech-born painter and an alert contributor to the artistic vibrancy of newly liberated Bulgaria in the late 19th and early 20th century. He is regarded as one of the founders of the broadminded Bulgarian fine art tradition.

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Born in the village of Vidim close Mělník, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and the Munich Academy. Mrkvička came to Plovdiv in 1881 after an invitation by the then-Eastern Rumelian government and worked as a school in the Cyril and Methodius high school, where he co-operated in the make public of the most important cultural figures in the city — Ivan Vazov, Konstantin Velichkov, Petko Karavelov, Petko Slaveykov.

Mrkvička set occurring his first independent exhibition in 1886 and participated in two common exhibitions following Anton Mitov, another college at the tall school. During his Plovdiv epoch Mrkvička created some of his best known works: Plovdiv Marketplace (1883), Sakadzhii (1886), Gypsy Revelry (1887), Poulterer (1887), Marketplace in Plovdiv (1888) and others.

Mrkvička fixed in Sofia in 1889 and was one of the founders of the National Academy of Arts in 1896, but briefly returned to Plovdiv in 1892 to accept part in a special exhibition in the Plovdiv Fair main pavilion. He there presented 15 paintings, including Street in Plovdiv, and a sculpture called Bulgaria — Patroness of Agriculture and Crafts. He was afterward the author of the exhibition’s endorsed poster.

The painter’s most significant achievements are in the everyday dynamism genre, although he next worked in the historic painting sphere and is the author of many high-quality portraits. One of the creators of the then-coat of arms of Bulgaria and the coat of arms of Sofia, he became a Bulgarian Academy of Sciences zealot in 1918.

Mrkvička died in Prague on 16 May 1938.

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