Karel Škréta or Carolus Creten (1610, Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 – July 30, 1674, Prague) was a Czech Baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 painter.

Biography

His full name is Karel Škréta Šotonovský ze Závořic. Karel learnt painting perhaps from one of the masters at the royal courtyard. He studied in Saxony and in Italy. According to Houbraken he painted portraits and lived together with the respected watercolor painter Willem Bouwer

Johann Wilhelm Baur

Johann Wilhelm Baur, Joan Guiliam Bouwer, or Bauer was a German engraver, etcher and miniature painter...

 in Rome. He became a member of the Bentvueghels

Bentvueghels

The Bentvueghels were a society of mostly Dutch and Flemish artists active in Rome from about 1620 to 1720. They are also known as the Schildersbent .-Activities:...

 with the nickname Slagzwaart or Slach-sweerd. According to the RKD he was the teacher of the Prague painter Johann Georg Heinsch (1640-1713).

Since 1638 he lived in Prague, where he worked on altarpieces for many churches, for example St. Thomas, St. Stephen or the Church of Our Lady in front of Týn

Church of Our Lady in front of Týn

The Church of Our Lady before Týn is a dominant feature of the Old Town of Prague, Czech Republic, and has been the main church of this part of the city since the 14th century...

.