Jan Kupetsky (1667 – July 16, 1740) – a famous Czech artist of the late 17th – first half of the 18th centuries, one of the greatest European portrait painters of his era. He also painted historical genre paintings and allegory paintings.

Jan Kupecki was an extremely prolific author and produced over 10,000 paintings during his career. He gave his descendants a huge number of portraits of ordinary people, his colleagues and friends, influential nobles and European rulers.

Biography of Jan Kupetsky

Jan Kupetsky was born in 1667 in the small town of Bazine. Today, this settlement is called Pezinok and is part of the Slovak Republic. The boy’s parents were Czech Protestants who fled after the Thirty Years’ War from Moravia to a neighboring country to escape religious persecution.

Jan was the eldest of four brothers in the family and was supposed to inherit a small family business – a weaving workshop. But from early childhood he loved to draw and dreamed of becoming a professional artist. Therefore, at the age of 15, he ran away from home. He accidentally met the Swiss master Benedict Klaus from Lucerne, who was engaged in the reconstruction of the interior decoration of the Holich Castle.

Jan impressed Klaus with his ability to draw so much that he took him on as an assistant and started teaching a talented guy. But the young student did not want to remain under the care of a mentor for a long time and at the age of 18 he went to Italy.

in Italy

With great difficulty, Jan reached Venice, but this city met the young man with hostility. Yang repeatedly tried to get a job with different masters, but each time he was refused.

And again, by chance, he met a wealthy Swiss merchant named Fuesli. 21-year-old Yang told him about his adventures and made a strong impression. Fuesli helped Kupetsky get a job as an assistant in one of the Roman workshops.

The career of a talented painter developed very slowly. For several years he was forced to paint custom-made portraits at a negligible price – half a thaler apiece. He also attended classes at the Roman academy and spent much time in museums and temples.

Yang could not escape from poverty for a long time, until his life was magically changed by chance. Kupetsky caught a cold and became very ill, but he was lucky to meet the doctor of the Polish ambassador in Rome, who cured the artist. In gratitude for saving his life, Yang gave the doctor his painting. The picture was seen by the son of the Polish king Alexander Sobieski.

The Crown Prince was amazed by the skill of the artist and wished to get acquainted with the author of the work. After meeting with Jan, he became his regular customer.

In 1707, Jan Kupetsky left Italy and went to Vienna, where a warm welcome awaited him.

Local nobles, led by Emperor Joseph I, willingly ordered portraits from the master and generously paid for the work done. The artist tried to find his teacher Benedict Klaus, but it turned out that he had died long ago. Out of pity and compassion, Yang married the tutor’s daughter, who was poor.

The marriage turned out to be extremely unsuccessful, the wife did not love Kupetsky and often cheated on him. The artist’s daughter died when she was barely a year old, and her only son died at the age of 17. On top of all the misfortunes, Jan soon had to flee Vienna, fearing the wrath of the reigning Emperor Charles VI.

He settled in Nuremberg and lived here the rest of his life. Despite health problems, he continued to paint commissioned portraits until his last days. And on July 16, 1740, Jan Kupetsky died at the age of 73, his grave has not survived to this day.