Salomon Emanuel MIROHORSKY

Emanuel Salomon von Friedberg-Mírohorský (January 18, 1829, Prague – December 10, 1908, Prague) was a Czech painter, illustrator, translator, author and officer in the Austrian army. He also advocated vegetarianism and abstinence. “Mírohorský” was an artistic pseudonym that has the same meaning as “Friedberg” (peaceful mountain) in Czech.

He was born into the well-known Salomon von Friedberg family. In 1837, he began taking drawing lessons at the local grammar school, organized by František Tkadlík and Antonín Mánes from the Academy of Fine Arts. In 1840 he became a student at the Theresian Military Academy, where one of his teachers was his uncle Moric Fialka, an officer and journalist who had a great influence on Emanuel.

He completed his studies in 1847 and returned to Prague, where he joined the 28th Infantry Regiment. In 1848, when the revolutions began, his regiment fought under the command of Field Marshal Radetzky in the Battle of Custozza. He also took part in the suppression of the revolution in Vienna and later in Hungary. For his bravery in the Battle of Kápolna on February 27, 1849, he was awarded the Military Cross of Merit.

In the following years, he worked on the military mapping of Vojvodina, Wallachia and Hungary and quickly made a career for himself. During the German War of 1866, he served as Chief of Staff in Verona and conducted negotiations with the Italian General Enrico Cialdini, whose troops had illegally crossed the border. He was then transferred to the headquarters in Zadar.

In 1873 he was promoted to major general and in 1878 to lieutenant field marshal. During his military career, he painted whenever possible and wrote articles for Czech newspapers.

In 1883, he retired after a gala dinner with Emperor Franz Joseph, at which there was a disagreement about Czech nationalism, although it is not certain whether this was the reason. After his retirement, he was awarded the Order of the Iron Crown, and a year later he was made a baron.

He settled in Prague, where he devoted himself to various interests, including continuing to paint and write. His works encompassed a variety of genres, including battle scenes commissioned by the Emperor. His early works were mainly watercolors, as it was difficult to work with oils in the field. He also illustrated books and provided possibly thousands of drawings for magazines, which were published anonymously because they were critical of the government. In 1891 he had a major exhibition at the General Land and Jubilee Exhibition. He gave away most of his paintings to museums, churches, friends and former colleagues.

His own writings often refer to his military service, including “Válečnictví polní a vojenství” (a history of warfare, partly written by Miroslav Tyrš). He also contributed articles to Otto’s encyclopedia and wrote several plays. His most important but unpublished work is his autobiography “Paměti z mého žití”.

Emanuel was very talented linguistically and spoke fluent Czech, German, French, Italian and English, as well as some other Slavic languages. He translated several books into Czech.

In addition to painting and writing, his greatest hobby was a healthy lifestyle. He was teetotal from childhood and did not smoke. He also did not drink coffee. From 1851, he was interested in hydrotherapy and later became a vegetarian. As a pensioner, he gave lectures on this subject and founded “Český Kneipp”, a society for a healthy lifestyle, in 1893.