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Introduction:
Tavik František Šimon (T.F.
Šimon)
was an extraordinary artist and without any doubt he is one of the
greatest. Šimon's artistic work has always been very popular and in high
demand. He painted several masterpieces and created more than 650 graphic
artworks of
high quality. We want to share our admiration for the artist with you, therefore we made this
website.
On this page
you find information about the artist's life. You can click on links that will give you information in
English, French, German, and Spanish. Each page shows different
pictures. We created an imaginary museum. So, if you are interested
to see the oil-paintings, drawings, graphics, ex-libris, etc. click the links to the different pages.
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Highlights: |
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1.
Catalogue Raisonné
by Arthur Novak (Terezin 1876- Prague 1957) + Appendix of Šimon 's prints in
English.
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2.
Pictures of
Graphics
by
Šimon
in miniature
on one page.
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3.
Original Catalogue Raisonné
by Arthur Novak + Appendix.of Šimon 's prints
in
Czech. |
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4.
Pictures
of Graphics
by Šimon on one page with
big images.
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5.
Oilpaintings and
Drawings by Šimon .
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6.
Oilpaintings
by Šimon
in miniature
on one page.
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7.
Sketches
of
Šimon's voyage around the World. |
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8.
Sketchbooks
by Šimon.
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9.
Photos,
Newspaper-articles, Postcards,
etc. |
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Native town of T.F. Šimon:
Zeleznice. |
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11.
Biography of
Šimon in
French.
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12.
Biography of Šimon in German. |
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13.
Biography of
Šimon in Spanish.
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14. Šimon`s friend Štefanik. |
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15.
Šimon's teacher
Max Pirner.
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16. Pupil of Pirner,
the artist Josef
Jelinek. |
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17. Šimon 's closest friend, the great artist
Hugo
Boettinger.
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18.
Another giant of the Czech artist:
Max
Švabinsky.
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19.
Pavel Šimon, the artistic son of T.F. Šimon.
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20.
Šimon`s son-in-law
the artist Cyril Bouda.
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21.
Vincent
van Gogh
in Auvers-sur-Oise
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The only webpage on the internet with all
the paintings and drawings
Vincent created in Auvers-sur-Oise,
France, the last place he lived and worked, and where he died.
Also you find all his relevant letters.
And the fascinating story of the last days of
his life.
He was killed by a shot of a revolver.
But, was it an accident, suicide, or even murder? |
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T. F. Šimon in his studio in Paris. Photo ca 1912.
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Biography:
Tavik František
Šimon
is one of the greatest artists of
the first half of the 20th
century.
He was born May 13,
1877
in Bohemia, in the then Austrian Empire, in the little town Železnice (in German: Eisenstadtel, or
Eisenstadtl) near Jicin,
east of the Česky Raj (Bohemian Paradise), a wonderful landscape with fantastic
sandstone rocks and ruins of medieval castles. The painter sometimes visited his native
town and Železnice
honours her great son with a modest museum and the T.F. Šimon Street, where you still can see his birth-house, now a
library, with
of course a memorial tablet. When he was about two years old the family Šimon migrated to the town
Mšeno.
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He was the youngest of seven children of the miller Antonin Šimon and Anna Tavikova. He showed early a talent for drawing, to the
extent that his elementary school teacher of Mšeno
recommended to his parents to send him
for art education in Prague. In the 4th and 5th class of the elementary
school he drowned on the blackboard assisting the teacher with
draw-lessons to the children.1)
He came to live with his oldest sister Maria and her family in Prague and attended a
Civic high school. Due to family circumstances he returned
to Mšeno,
and attended three years the Civic high school (commerce)
in Duba.2)
At the age of 17 he passed the
entrance examination to the Academy of Arts and was accepted to the class of
drawing and painting of Max Pirner (1854-1924), an acknowledged artist of
neo-romantic, philosophical inclinations.
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At the Academy he developed a close friendship with Hugo Boettinger
(1880-1934), Jan Honsa (1876-1937), Ferdinand Michl (1877-1951) and Max Švabinsky (1873-1962). Švabinsky later became a professor at the Academy
and taught there graphic arts until 1928 when Šimon was appointed to his
position and Švabinsky took the chair of painting.
While still at the Academy Šimon became ill and decided to recuperate in a
warm climate. He set out to spend some time in Bosnia with his sister Anna
who was married there to a forester. He travelled through Bosnia, Croatia
and Montenegro and was fascinated by the Adriatic and in particular by
Dubrovnik.
He painted already on a high artistic level. Highlights are "Symphony",
a charming painting in the Art Nouveau style, now in the National Gallery and "Reminiscence
of Dalmatia" from 1900, an intriguing painting. Both paintings show that Šimon had a great love of
painting young women. His whole life he was inspired by women, especially by his favourite model, his wife Vilma.
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T. F. Šimon:
"Reminiscence of Dalmatia", 1900. Oil on canvas.
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František graduated from the academy in
1900 and received two consecutive scholarships to travel. The first one was
used for a trip to Italy, the second to Paris and London. Both of the metropolises
of western world impressed the young artist by the richness of
museum collections and by the galleries displaying contemporary art; the
intensity of the street life seemed equally amazing. In
Paris he was exposed to the art of the impressionists, whose glorious era was
already fading, in London he admired the works of Pre-Raphaelites, of Turner,
Constable and, in particular of Whistler
(exhibition London 1905) of whom he had also seen an exhibition in Paris
in 1903. Of course he was influenced by them,
but he succeeded to create his own style, often of high artistic level.
First of all Šimon was a painter, and as a painter he ranks among the best
artists of the twentieth century. But he liked also the graphic arts and became
famous and one of the best. At the turn of century the graphic arts, such as etching, aquatint, dry
point, wood-cut etc., were in their infancy in Bohemia and
instruction for eager young artists was hard to find. There were a few pioneers
such as professor J. Marak, Zdenka Braunerova and Max Švabinsky and some help was
also offered by professionals from the printing trade, namely Edvard Karel and
Jan Stenc (who later published many of Šimon's aquatints in colour). Šimon often
made first a drawing which he used as the example of his graphics. Many of them were in aquatint, what took T.F. Šimon
a terrible lot of time.
In 1937
Arthur Novak made a list of the graphic works of T.F. Šimon and he listed the
amazing amount of 626 graphics.
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T. F. Šimon (left) and his
friend the painter Hugo Boettinger.
Rue Daguerre, Paris. Photo of 1905.
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During his visit to Paris Šimon perceived, as other Czech artists before
him Alfons Mucha (1860-1939), Ludek Marold (1865-1898), František Kupka
(1871-1957), Karel Špillar (1871-1939), Josef Mařatka (1974-1934) and
others that the "City of Light" was a centre of artistic
activity, so he decided to move in there.
He travelled to Paris in Spring of 1904 with his friend, a recent graduate of the
Academy, Ferdinand Michel and they set up a modest studio ("atelier")
somewhere in the Fifth Arrondissement (the "Left Bank").
With limited financial means their beginnings were quite hard and Michel eventually
gave up and left. Šimon gradually acquired the necessities for his efforts in
graphic arts, some tools at flea markets, zinc plates at hardware stores and
somehow- nobody seems to know how he learned all the crafts of etching, in
particular that of aquatint (invented in France in 18th century by J.B. Leprince).
Aquatint appeared essential to Šimon the painter as it permitted the rendering
of half-tones and colours. He also mastered the technique of soft ground (vernis-mou)
which produced the effect of pencil drawing and skilfully combined this with
the aquatint. In order to obtain exactly the desired effect he preferred to do
his own printing and for this purpose purchased a second hand press.
In 1905 he visited London again with his friends Boettinger and Kafka, mainly
to see a large retrospective exhibit of J. Whistler, which also included a
collection of his etchings. In the same year he had his first one-man show in
Prague, in the pavilion of the Manes Society. The exhibit comprised some 100
works: drawings, pastels, paintings and etchings. Šimon's city scenes enlivened
by busy traffic and people were thoroughly original and became highly appreciated.
The painter was very inspired, because he had met the muse of the rest of his
life, the beautiful and intelligent Vilma Kracikova, whom he first met in France
in the year 1903 in the picturesque little town Ault-Onival on the coast of Normandy, where he painted
some of his famous impressions of the beach. The couple married in the church of
St. Nicholas in Prague in 1906 and the newlyweds returned to Paris.
After the return to Paris Šimon started to work with renewed energy.
Regarding his graphics he added two new techniques, the mezzotint and wood-cut.
He exhibited already before in the Salon de Beaux Arts where his prints came to
the attention of the graphic arts dealer Sagot who took some of them for sale.
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T. F. Šimon: "Sado Yacco", oil on
canvas, 54 x 65 cm, 1902.
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Also Georges Petit, owner of a prestigious gallery in Paris, showed great
interest in Šimon's
colour aquatints and began to sell and commission them regularly.
Šimon's name
began to appear prominently in international competition as witnessed by an
article by J. Friedenthal in "Graphische Künste" where he pointed out
that Šimon discovered in Paris something other
that the Frenchmen did not see. Perhaps because he was born in the country he
had a fresh perception of the city scenery that might have escaped a born
Parisian.
Šimon captured these scenes in paintings,
drawings and etchings in an original, poetic manner that gained him a wide
circle of admirers. His French colleagues called these pieces "Paysages de
Paris" (Parisian landscapes). The quays, markets, boulevards, streets and
alleys, quiet corners, pawnshops and bouquinistes, all that was rendered in soft
lines and subdued colour harmony, thus recreating and rejuvenating a genre that
has gone out of style. By its success Šimon found out that graphic works get in
circulation easier than paintings since they are more accessible to a greater
number of collectors and, being signed by the author, are originals in their own
right. He wanted to make himself different from all other Šimons by a permanent, effective initial.
While in his first exhibit in Prague Šimon was listed as František
in all subsequent ones he was always using his expanded signature T.F. Šimon. The T stands for Tavik, the family
name of his mother.
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František and Vilma, 1912
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Friendly contacts among compatriots residing in Paris reflected in portraits
such as those of the sculptors Mařatka, Kafka, Spaniel and Gutfreund, the painter
Špillar and the astronomer M. R.
Štefanik. In turn,
Šimon also influenced them: both Kafka and Spaniel tried their hands at etchings, as well as the
painter-illustrator Strimpl. Štefanik did not experiment in print-making but
instead became an avid art collector. He attended auctions with his artist
friends and together they prowled the pawn shops and flea markets. They frequented the exhibitions at the official "Salons" and at the
galleries of well known art dealers, such as Durand Ruel, Vollard, Bernheim and
Druet. In Štefanik's apartment in Rue Leclerc was accumulating a sundry
collection of rare china, rugs, arms, decorative fabrics, bronze objects, clumps
of corals and minerals. Among these was a piece of uranium ore which the
astronomer used to carry in his coat pocket to show its phosphorescence to his
amazed friends.
The first decade of twentieth century was a period of Šimon's intense productivity
and participation in numerous exhibits.
He was invited by numerous organizations, such as the Société de la Gravure en
Couleurs,
the Société de la
Gravure en Noir, the Société des Peintres-Graveurs Français, the Gallery Walker of
Liverpool and the Royal Society of Painters, Etchers and Engravers of London.
Interest was also extended from Bern, Switzerland and from Chicago and from New
York where F. Keppel was dealing in modern graphic art.
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T. F. Šimon: "Vilma reading a Book", oil
on canvas.
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In 1911 there was in Paris the first comprehensive exhibit of cubist
painters. Cubism heralded a new radical trend subsequently embraced by the
avant-garde artists throughout Europe, including Prague, where in the Art
Society Manes it lead to a rift in which the young avant-garde (Vaclav
Spala, Emil Filla, Bohumil Kubista, V.H. Brunner and others ) seceded and started a
group "Osma" (The Eight) of their own.
Šimon was well aware of the new winds blowing and was informed about the
events in Prague by letters from his friends. In spite of it he chose to
ignore the modernistic trends and continued to develop his own personal
style characterized by a unique combination of realistic craftsmanship with
a sensitive feel for colour and mood of the scene.
In summer of the year 1912 Šimon
returned for a trip with his family to Prague and they decided to spend a part of their
vacation in the region called Moravian Slovakia which was renown for its colourful
village life. Unfortunately, this trip ended tragically when their
first-born son Kamil became ill with meningitis and died. After their return to
Paris the Šimons decided to do some travelling, in part to overcome the grief and
depression which affected particularly Vilma. From their visit to Bretagne,
Spain and Tangiers T.F. Šimon brought back a rich harvest of new motifs for
paintings and etchings. In 1913 Šimon began to think of returning to Prague,
planning to keep in Paris only a small studio. In summer of 1914 while the Šimons were again in Prague the archduke Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo
and a war broke out that turned out to become the World War I. The return to
France became impossible. The painter was not drafted in the Austrian army but
the livelihood of an artist became rather difficult as war years dragged on. He
continued to create works often inspired by the scenes of life in Prague and his
longing for his beloved France. In the winter of 1916 he painted the masterly
"Saint-Nicolas Market".
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T.F.
Šimon: "Vilma and
Ivan".
Drawing in ink on paper
Signed TFŠ, ca.1915.
Published in Topicuv Sbornik, 1918.
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Even though he had to work very hard to
support the family Šimon was thinking of
helping his fellow artists who were often struggling for bare existence. His
organizational talents lead to the founding with Max Švabinsky of the "Association
of Czech Graphic Artists Hollar" (so named after Vaclav Hollar, an outstanding engraver mostly active in London in 17th century). This group of
some fifteen original members was organized to give support to the artists by
providing a gallery space for exhibits, a sales room and an editorial office for
publishing a quarterly "Hollar" to which Šimon often contributed
articles on graphic arts and artists. The association "Hollar" also
strived at increasing the public awareness of Czech graphic arts at home and
abroad; it is still in existence to-day. When returned to Paris after the war he
found the studio, the graphic tools, the press, the supplies and the paintings
all under dust and mildew. Worse still he was obliged to pay the back rent for
four years (and shipping costs of the remainders back to Prague) which added up
to a considerable financial burden. Fortunately, he was able to renew quickly
the contacts with the publishers and art dealers in Paris and to obtain ample
commissions and contracts. Back home he was commissioned, along with other artists, by
the initiative of the Defence Ministry of Czechoslovak Republic, to visit and document the various battlegrounds where the Czech and Slovak
battalions in exile fought along the Allied Armies.
Šimon chose to visit France
and made a number of dramatic etchings from the ruins of Reims.
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T.F.
Šimon: "Selfportrait".
Drawing. Mixed-media on brown paper.
Signed TFŠ, dated
1911. Size 20 x 25 cm.
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The twenties and thirties were very busy years for T.F. Šimon.
He produced a great number of colour aquatints of Prague motifs and he also
returned (often with family) to Paris to satisfy the demand for his
characteristic vistas of the city and of the beaches of Normandy.
In 1921 he visited Slovakia - in part for therapy in the spa Trencianske
Teplice-and made a number of etchings from the picturesque towns and mountains.
Meanwhile, he also became involved in graphic design of books and created a
great number of ex-libris for collectors-bibliophiles. In the twentieth he had
built a beautiful villa, Na Zatorce 483 (later called V Tišine
10) in Prague, with a large studio. The artist Alfons Mucha lived in the
same street, V Tišine
4. Šimon made three murals on the outer
walls, still to be seen. All along, Šimon was thinking about broadening
his repertoire by visiting the more distant parts of the world and eventually
fulfilling his long-held dream of travelling around the world.
He started the long trip in August 1926, fully armed with his tools for drawing,
sketching and painting. He was regularly writing long letters to his wife
describing his experiences and impressions, often illustrated with pencil
sketches.
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T. F. Šimon: "A sunny Day at the Beach",
1909, oil on canvas.
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After the Bathing, drypoint etching 1916
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From the impressions of New York Šimon created a number of
exceptionally effective paintings, etchings and colour aquatints. From
New-York the tour then
proceeded to Boston, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago,
Washington, Philadelphia, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, after
which he continued to Hawaii and the Philippines, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon),
India, Egypt, and Greece, ending with Naples and Marseille. The Orient made a
great impression on the artist and he responded by producing numerous etchings,
aquatints and oil paintings, some of which were shown at a comprehensive exhibit
in Prague on the occasion of
Šimon's 50th birthday. After his return some of these were collected in
book format and published in 1928 under the title "Listy z cesty
kolem sveta" (Letters from a voyage around the world).
The first stop of the tour in the USA was New York where T. F. Šimon
had already established contacts from previous years, when he visited
Detroit and Chicago.
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In 1928 Šimon was appointed a
professor at the Academy of Arts in Prague
to head the school of graphic arts previously held by Max Švabinsky. He took the
teaching job very seriously and devoted a lot of time to it, including writing
and publishing of two manuals, one dealing with etching and the other with
woodcut. The instruction took 3 to 4 years, the first of which was devoted to
drawing from live models and composition; then followed instruction in all forms
of graphic arts, the practical classes being run with the aid of an assistant. Šimon's first assistant was Cyril Bouda, the future husband of his daughter Eva,
later followed by Vladimir Pukl.Professor Šimon cautioned his students against superficiality and artistic
shortcuts. He stressed study from nature and reality rather than following
preconceived theories. He familiarized his students with the works of the
masters of graphic arts, such as Dürer, Rembrandt, Hollar, Piranesi and Goya,
and his own favourites, such as Brangwyn, Whistler, Lautrec, Lepčre, Meryon and
others. This was followed by discussions in class and supplemented by visits to
the Modern Gallery (of which he was one of the curators). Some fifty students
passed through Šimon's class of which about one-half graduated with a degree of Master. All this came to an end when the Academy was closed in November 1939
after the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia.
After 1930 his work as a professor, curator and writer took
too much of his energy, and it is regrettable he had too little time for his
artistic work. Still he made some masterpieces, like a painting (1936) of his
son Pavel Šimon (born 1920). Šimon took very hard the events of World War II and
stress declined his health seriously. Tavik František Šimon died at home,
December 19, 1942 by heart failure following a heart attack some months earlier.
For his wife the years after were very hard. During the
German occupation she had forced lodging of Germans in the house. After the war
there were some peaceful years, the art-collections of the Šimons, among which a
lot of very valuable paintings the painter always kept, and very much graphics
and drawings and his large library of especially books of art, were still in
their possession. In the house lived Vilma together with her sons. Her daughter Eva married before 1940 the future famous national artist Cyril Bouda and got a
son (the
graphic artist Jiři Bouda). Pavel Šimon became also an artist. A painter and
graphic artist, well known for his book illustrations and ex-libris. He died young in
1958 in Prague. Mr. Ivan
Šimon emigrated with his wife and two
children to the U.S.A in 1947.
During the communist regime the family Šimon had again to accept that other people came to live in their house.
For some years the film-director Jiři
Weiss. The artist Tavik
František
Šimon was no longer
wanted by the communists. The name T.F.
Šimon disappeared
from the official art books and nothing of value was published about this great
Czech artist. They had their policy of silence. The archives of the Art Society
Hollar were destroyed during the communist time.
After more
then 40 years of silence in the communist era nowadays the revaluation of the artist is in progress.
In 1994 an exhibition in Prague at the National Gallery was mounted,
organised by Eva Buzgova. In 2002
there was an exhibition at the Czech Centre in New-York and in
the same year was hold an extended sale-exhibition of graphic work by T.F. Šimon in
Chicago (Frederick Baker).
Vilma Šimonova died in 1959. She was a wonderful woman. After the death of her
husband her aim was to keep the art collection of the family together and to
catalogue the collection. During the
hard communist regime of the fifties she had the courage to erect a memorial on the cemetery of Bubeneč in the north of Prague to honour the great artist who considered himself
first and foremost as a painter.
Sources:
This biography is
mainly based on an abridged translation in English from Eva Buzgova`s booklet "Malir a grafik T. F. Šimon (1877-1942) vyber z
dila" by Professor Mr. Ivan Šimon (1914-2009), son of Vilma
and František Šimon who emigrated in 1947 to
America/Boston.
The booklet was published in occasion of the exhibition of paintings
and graphics by T. F.
Šimon in Kinsky
Palace in Prague, Mai 31- July 3, 1994. We are very
grateful for the co-operation and the work by Eva Buzgova.
1) + 2) Catalogue Chrudim, 1903 |
The villa of Vilma and Tavik František Šimon in Prague. 
The impressive villa of T. F.
Šimon, V Tišine 10, Bubeneč, Prague, 1929.
The villa was built in the years 1922-23.
The architect is František Kavalír (1878 Osek u Rokycan - 1932 Prague).
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The impressive villa of T. F. Šimon, V Tišine 10, Bubeneč, Prague, 2007.
Nowadays an Algerian consulate.
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At the back of his villa used to be the studio of T. F.
Šimon.
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T.F.
Šimon: "Idyll", mural of a lovely
girl on the
front of the artist's villa.
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T.F. Šimon: "Shepherd`s boy with a
German flute", mural on the front of the artist's villa.
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T.F. Šimon: "Pastoral", mural on the south wall of
artist's villa.
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The memorial for T. F.
Šimon
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Memorial
for T.F. Šimon
in the Cemetery in
Bubeneč,
Prague,
erected by his widow Vilma; the portrait in bronze is by the sculptor
Josef Šejnost (created in 1937).
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| Known Exhibitions:
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1891-1894 |
Before T.F. Šimon entered the Academy of Fine
Arts in1894 in Prague, he studied for a period of three years at the
Civic high school
(school of commerce) in Duba (ca.60 km north of Prague). |
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1894
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Accepted to the Academy of Fine Arts (Akademie výtvarných umení,
UVA)
Entered the class of Prof. Maximilian Pirner (1854-1924) starting winter-season 1895/96.
(source: ex. catalogue Chrudim 1903). |
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| 1898 |
Participates for the first time with Society
Manes in Salon Topic in Prague. Included the oil-painting: Portrait
of my father. |
Prague |
| 1898-1904 |
Several illustrations of Simon's
artworks were published in art-magazines f.i. Volné Smery (1898-1902),
The studio (London), and Kunst für Alle (München). |
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| 1899 |
Participates with 'Krasoumna Jednota' (Fine Arts Union/
Kunstvereins für Böhmen) in The Rudolfinum in Prague. Included the
oil-painting (illustrated in the catalogue): Portrait of J.V. Sladek
(poet and writer). |
Prague |
| 1900 |
Graduates from the Academy of
Fine Arts (Akademie výtvarných umení, UVA) in Prague. |
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| 1900 |
Participates with 'Krasoumna Jednota' (Fine Arts Union/
Kunstvereins für Böhmen) in The Rudolfinum in Prague. 4 oil-paintings. |
Prague |
| 1900 |
Participates with Society Manes in Prague. 3
oil-paintings: The sea / Playing waves and Bosnian mule
+ 2 graphical artworks. |
Prague |
| 1900 |
The same above mentioned Manes exhibition was also to
see in Vienna. (where?) The Ministry of Education bought one oil-painting:
Bosnian mule.
(source: ex. catalogue Chrudim 1903). |
Vienna |
| 1900-1901 |
Military Service. October
1900-october 1901.
(photo: on the right sitting TFŠ). |
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| 1901 |
Participates with 'Krasoumna Jednota' (Fine Arts Union/
Kunstvereins für Böhmen), Annual exhibition, Rudolfinum in Prague. 3
oil-paintings. |
Prague |
| 1902 |
Obtains the Josef Hlavka Travel Stipend.
He won the award with 2 exhibited oil-paintings:
Symphony
(1902) and
Convalescent (1902). With the stipend the
artist travelled to Italy and stayed there for a period of 4 months.
(source: exh. catalogue Chrudim 1903/ Arthur Novak-
Hollar, 1937).
Both sources do not mention where these artworks were exhibited, we do
suppose in the Rudolfinum/1902. |
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| 1902 |
Participates with Society Manes with artists
association Hagenbund Vienna. 4 oil-paintings. Included the oil-painting
Symphony. |
Vienna |
| 1903 |
Participates with 'Krasoumna Jednota' (Fine Arts Union/ Kunstvereins
für Böhmen), Annual exhibition, The Rudolfinum in Prague.7
oil-paintings. Included the oil-painting Jaro/ Spring
(1902), In the loge at the concert
and Reflexionen aus der
vergangenheit Venedigs
(wins with this artwork for
the second time the Hlavka travel award).
(source: ex. catalogue Chrudim 1903/Arthur
Novak-Hollar, 1937). |
Prague |
| 1903 |
Obtains the above mentioned
Hlavka travel stipend
that ablest him to visit Paris (he sees for
the first time Whistlers artworks exhibited)
and
Ault-Onival/ coast of Normandy. Visits also in the same year London, Belgium and Holland. |
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| 1903 |
Participates with Society Manes in Prague. 6 oil-paintings. Included
the oil-painting
In front of the mirror. |
Prague |
| 1903 |
The same above mentioned Manes Exhibition (+ more
included artworks by T.F. Simon) was also to see in Chrudim
(town east of Prague). (source: ex. catalogue Chrudim 1903). |
Chrudim |
| 1901-1914 |
Between 1901-1914 the artist participates with artists association Hagenbund in Vienna. Austrian group of artists
formed in 1900 in Vienna as "Künstlerbund Hagen", along with the
Künstlerhaus and the Secession the third most important Viennese
artists association. Founder of Hagenbund was Joseph Urban. Other artists a.o.
who exhibited with this association were Oskar
Kokoschka and Egon Schiele. |
Vienna |
|
1904 |
Moves to Paris with his friend the Czech
artist Ferdinand Michl (1877-1951)
".........
.This was at the beginning of my stay in Paris – in the end of February 1904 when
I came there with my friend Michl. We used
to go for lunch to some restaurant at noon and instead of dinner, we
rather went to some café-house, where we could sit, with a glass of café
or another drink, relaxing, talking and sketching till or even over midnight."
|
|
1905/1906
 |
First solo
exhibition in the Manes Pavilon in Kinsky Garden, Prague,
organised by "Society (S.V.U.) Manes",
80 oil-paintings, 6 crayons, 2 drawings and 38
graphical artworks (7 monotypes).
December 1905/January 1906. |
Prague |
| 1905-1929 |
Salon d 'Automne, Paris.1905/1907/1908/1909/1910/1911/1912/1913/1919(Reims
etchings)/1928/1929. |
Paris |
| 1906-1912. |
Salon des Beaux-Arts (Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts), Paris, 1906/ (1907/solo)/1909/ 1910/1911/1912. |
Paris |
| 1906 |
Starts
correspondence with Sagot in Paris and offers his artworks in
commission to this art dealer.
| "..I am a Czech
painter and graphic artist and member of Society Manes in
Prague. I life now for two years in Paris and have acclimatized
well. Last year in 1905, there was an exhibition in Prague organised by
Manes Society showing my 'tableaux et eau-forts'. Included were 80
oil-paintings and 40 'eau-forts' + monotypes. Beside it I
exhibit in Vienna, Berlin, München and London...."
The artist invites Sagot to his atelier at Boulevard Montparnasse 83. April 23,
1906. |
|
|
|
1906 |
Starts to coöperate with publisher/art dealer George Petit in Paris.
|
|
| 1906 |
Accepted to the Salon de la Société de la Grafure
orginale en Couleurs. Paris. Leading personality of this Society
was at that time J.F. Rafaëlli.
|
|
| 1906-1920 |
Salon de la Société de la Grafure orginale en
Couleurs.Paris.1906/1907/1908/1909/1910/1911/1912/ 1913/1920 |
Paris |
| 1908-1913 |
Exposition de la Société des Peintres-Graveurs
français. 1908/1909/1910/1911/1912/1913. |
Paris |
| 1908-1914 |
Royal Society of Painters, Etchers and
Engravers, London. (1910/solo) |
London |
| 1909 |
Albert- Roullier's Art Galleries, Chicago. The first Šimon
exhibition in U.S.A.
(note: beside Matejcek - T.F. Simon 1938, most sources in books etc.
is indicated 1909. We believe is must 1910. |
Chicago |
| 1910 |
Became member of the 'Union Internationale des
Beaux-Arts et des Lettres' on May 19, 1910. (Founded in 1905 in Paris by
MM. Paul Adam, Auguste Rodin et Vincent d'Indy). |
|
|
1910 |
Became member of the Royal Society of Painters, Etchers and Engravers, London. |
|
| 1910 |
Salzburg |
Salzburg |
| 1910 |
Solo exhibition 'T. François Šimon ' at
George Petit (Galleries Georges Petit), Paris. 39x Grafures
orginales en
Noir et Couleurs. |
Paris |
| 1910 |
Elected to the Czech Academy of Sciences and
Arts. |
|
| 1911 |
Public Library, New York.
Comment by the curator.
|
New York |
1911
|
Albert Roullier's
Art Galleries, Chicago, An Exhibition of Original Etchings in
Black and White and in colour, 1911. Chicago (USA).
With an introduction in the catalogue by Alice Roullier.
(Invitation). |
Chicago |
| 1912 |
Salon de la Société de la Gravure originale en
Couleurs, 2nd salon in Reims. |
Reims |
| 1914 |
Zagreb.International print
exhibition. |
Zagreb |
| 1914/1915 |
Frederick Keppel & Co, New-York (USA). With a note on
colour-printing by the artist. |
New York |
| 1914-1918 |
Participates in the exhibitions of the Association for Assistance to
Artists (Pomoc), Prague. |
Prague |
| 1917 |
Founds the Association of Czech Graphic
Artists "Hollar". |
|
| 1917 |
Tabor (Czechia).
Exhibition of Graphics and
Books. Artists: Adamek, Braunerova, Emingerova, Hervert, Herman,
Hnilicka, Honsa, Hurka, Jelinek, Kaspar, Kobliha, Konupek, Kotik, Kubin,
Mackova, Maly, Marak, Pacovsky, Podhajska, Porket, Rabas, Röhling,
Silovsky, V.Stretti, Stretti-Zamponi, Skrbek, T.F.Šimon , Svabinsky,
Vachal, Vanac, Vondrous, Votruba, Wellner, Zitek, Zrzavy. |
Tabor |
| 1919 |
Participates in the exhibit of Czech Art in Paris. This exhibition was
also to see in Venice, Rome, Krakow?, and Belgrade.
(According to
A.Matĕjček, T.F.Šimon
1938, it was to see in Warsaw too).
|
Paris |
| 1921 |
Participates with Hollar Society in Holland. (Source:
Topicuv Sbornik/ 1923, not mentioned where). |
Holland |
| 1921 |
Schwartz Gallery in New York. |
New York |
| First half 1920s? |
According to the book T.F. Šimon 'Painter -Etcher' by Arthur Novak,
translated by William Ganson Rose (Cleveland 1926), Henry J. John from
Cleveland organized a touring graphic exhibition. Šimon 's art has passed
through the great cities of U.S.A. (There is not found exact information
on that so far).
|
USA |
| 1922 |
The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1922. Grahic Art of
Czechoslovakia: exhibition of prints from the private collection of
Henry J. John.
http://www.dalnet.lib.mi.us/greenstone/dia/diaExhibitions/1923-7.pdf |
Cleveland |
| 1922 |
Participates with Hollar Society in Cleveland.
(Source: Topicuv Sbornik/ 1923). |
Cleveland |
| 1923-1925 |
Carnegie Museum of Pittsburg (USA). |
Pittsburg |
|
1923 |
Solo exhibition at
Fine Arts Society, London.'Watercolours, drawings and original
etchings by T.F. Šimon'. |
London |
| 1926 |
City Art Museum
St. Louis (USA (photo from the newspaper St. Louis Globe-Democrat,
April 11, 1926). A part of the Carnegie International Exhibition of
Paintings. |
St. Louis
U.S.A |
| 1927 |
Royal Institute Galleries, Picadilly, London. |
London |
| 1928 |
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery in Bournemouth.
Catalogue of the
exhibition by "Hollar" Society of Czech
Graphic Art. Introduction
by George Brochner, March 21st. to April 5th, 1928. This exhibition was
on view in several places in England like in Royal Institute Galleries, Piccadilly,
London 1927. |
Bourne-mouth |
| 1928 |
Solo exhibition
at Krasoumna Jednota (Fine Arts Union), Prague.
Graphics,
drawings and oil-paintings. |
Prague |
| 1928 |
Solo exhibition, Hradec Kralové (Czechia). |
H. Kralové |
|
1928 |
Solo exhibition, Art-Museum in Plzen (Czechia). Graphics, drawings and oil-paintings.
Extended introduction by Dr. J. Cadík. 41
oil-paintings, 1 monotype, 176 graphics, 13 drawings and 4 ex-libris. |
Plzen |
| 1928 |
Paviljon 'Ales', Brno (Czechia). Exhibition together with the Czech artist J.C. Vondrous. 'Club des
Artistes peintres
et Sculpteurs'. |
Brno |
| 1928 |
Turnov (Czechia). Graphic artworks by T.F. Šimon and Medals
by J.Sejnost. |
Turnov |
| 1928 |
Appointed a Professor at the Academy of Fine
Arts in Prague and publishes after his World travel the book 'Letters from a voyage around the
World'. |
|
| 1929 |
Galerie J. Alexis in Paris. 'Exhibition of original drawings by T.F. Šimon'. |
Paris |
| 1930/31 |
Rudolf Lesch Fine Arts, New York 225 Fifth Avenue. 'The etchings of T. F. Šimon'. |
New York |
| 1931 |
Participates in the exhibit 'France in the paintings of Czech Artists'
in the French Institute (named after the French historian
Ernest Denis). |
Prague |
| 1933 |
|
Prague |
| 1935 |
Art gallery 'Frantisek R. Zdarsky', Prague. 24
monotypes (1904-1913) and
11 drawings. |
Prague |
|
1938 |
Solo exhibition at
Pavilion Myslbek, Prague.
Comprehensive exhibit on the occasion of Šimon 's 60th birthday. |
Prague |
| 1939 |
Society Manes, Prague.
Exhibition of portraits. |
Prague |
| 1939 |
November 17th, The Academy of Fine Arts
(Akademie výtvarných umení) is closed down (Nazi
occupation), the artist still meets with students in a private studio. |
|
1942
|
Exhibition in
Mšeno
and
Železnice
(Šimon
donates a collection of 50 graphics, three oil-paintings, photos and a
few books to the
Museum).
|
Mseno-Zeleznice |
| 1942 |
December 19th: the artist dies in his villa in Bubeneč. |
|
|
1983 |
Museum Municipal, Pardubice (Czechia).
Exhibition catalogue by Tomás Rybička. |
Pardubice |
| 1986 |
British Museum, Czechoslovak prints from 1900
to 1970. Exhibition catalogue by Irene Goldschneider, London, 1986. |
London |
|
1990/91 |
Museum Municipal, Liberec (Czechia). |
Liberec |
|
1994 |
National Gallery Prague (Kinsky Palace).
Organised by Eva Buzgova.
(45 drawings,167 graphics and 25 oil-paintings. |
Prague |
|
2001 |
National Gallery, Zlin (Czechia).
Organisation and catalogue
(text) by Anna Grossová. |
Zlin |
| 2002- |
www.tfsimon.com
Imaginary Museum dedicated to the artist Tavik Frantisek
Šimon |
Internet |
|
2002 |
Czech Centre on
Madison Avenue Madison Avenue, New York (USA). From the
collection of William.Ganson Rose (Cleveland), who met Šimon on a trip
in Paris in 1923. |
NewYork |
|
2002 |
Art Gallery Frederick Baker, Chicago (USA). Sale exhibition with a well
noted illustrated catalogue. |
Chicago |
| 2002 |
Museum Gallery of Zeleznice near Jicin.
Re-opened permanent exhibition of Šimon 's artworks. |
Zeleznice |
|
2004 |
Galerie U Krizovniku, Prague. 'Around the world in 80 pictures'.
Graphics, drawings, and oil-paintings. Illustrated
catalogue with an introduction by a grandson of the artist. |
Prague |
| 2006 |
Galerie U Betlemske Kaple,
Prague. Exhibition of
Graphics, drawings, oil-paintings and sketchbooks. |
Prague |
| 2007 |
Gallery of Modern Art, Hradec
Kralové . 'Grafika Symbolistu'. T.F. Šimon , Frantisek Bilek, Max.
Svabinsky, Vojtéch Preissig, Frantisek Kobliha, Rudolf Adámek, Jan
Konupek, Josef Vachal, Jann Zravý. |
Hradec Kralové |
2008/
2009 |
Prague City Gallery-Municipal Library. 'Beings
from Nowhere': Metamorphoses of Academic Principles in Painting in the
First Half of the 20th Century.
|
Prague |
Member of Society Manes 1898 -1934. The artist exhibited in the period 1906-1914 also in München (Glaspalast),
Dresden and Berlin (there is no exact further information on this so far). From
1918-1935
he
did participate every year with the Hollar Society in
Prague and sometimes abroad, f.i. : London, Brighton, Liverpool, Florence,
Belgrade, Zagreb, Krakow, Warsaw, Vienna, Holland, Spain, Japan, Australia,
USA (f.e.Pittsburgh, Cleveland).
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Bibliography
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