Ján Kupecký (1667 Pezinok - 1740 Nuremberg). Painter and a leading representative of the Baroque burgher portrait. Born to a Czech family, Jan Kupecky spent the first fifteen years of his life in Slovakia, where he learned his craft at Holič. After a period to Vienna he left for Italy, whence he returned to the Austrian capital to become one of the most sought-after portrait painters of his time. Showered with commissions from the nobility, he travelled throughout central Europe, painted the portrait of Peter the Great and refused an appointment as second court artist. Influenced by the schools of Bologna...