Background
He was born in Praskolesy (present-day Czechoslovakian Republic), but within a few months, his family moved to nearby Hořovice.
He was born in Praskolesy (present-day Czechoslovakian Republic), but within a few months, his family moved to nearby Hořovice.
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich.
Seifert was a Czechoslovakian-German painter, acclaimed for his female portraits. As a child, he fell seriously ill, could not walk for four years and spent two years in an orthopedic institution. Instead of playing, he began to draw pictures and his artistic talent soon started to emerge.
After two years of studies at a high school in Malá Strana (Lesser Town of Prague), he received an admission to the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich in 1869.
In 1876, he opened his own workshop there. Seifert focused on portraits of women, especially on sentimentally mooded heads of girls which became known as "Seifert type".
Critics appreciated a well-thought composition of paintings, attention to detail, as well as harmonic colors and a pleasant atmosphere. Seifert spent most of his life in Germany.
His approach, however, was explained by financial reality: to make his living, he had to create such paintings that his Munich audience was willing to buy.
Foreign example, a history painting January Augusta welcomes Filipina Welser waited long for a buyer. To a church in Hořovice, he donated his painting Avenue Maria, depicting a young girl praying to Virgin Mary.
Some Czechs criticized his lack of patriotism by pointing out on his preference for foreign topics over domestic ones.