Peter Michal Bohúň is one of the most significant Slovak painters of the nineteenth century, being a member, together with J. B. Klemens, of the so-called Slovak national renaissance. Originating from a Protestant family living in the municipality of Veličná, he initiated his studies at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts in 1843, where he attended drawing courses.  In 1845, Bohúň began to work for the Czech patriotic lithographer, František Šír and participated in redrawing patriots’ portraits and preparing illustrations for the General Botany by the Czech botanist, J. S. Presl.  Apart from these activities, he studied also in the Christian Ruben's atelier during the academic year 1846 − 1847. After his return home at the end of May 1848, Bohúň presented the Requirements of the Slovak Nation (May, 10 − 15, 1848) to natives of the municipality of Veličná. On June 21, 1848, he married Žofia Klonkayová, who came from a wealthy patriotic family from the municipality of Lučivná. The portrait of Janko Francisci as a captain of the Slovak Volunteer Corps represents a highlight of Bohúň’s works depicting the national tendencies. 
However, his expectations did not come true after the revolutionary years, and his works were no longer inspired by the "national romanticism". They rather followed the more commercial idyllic Biedermeier movement.  Especially, the portraits earning him a living were affected by this style. He also painted portraits of relatives and friends which reflected an intimate atmosphere, mainly in the Portrait of the Artist's Wife (1848 − 1849). The first depiction of his wife was made as an aquarelle portrait where she is sitting with a guitar, surrounded by flowers. The portrait shows Žofia as a young woman with a very intimate “domestic” look. Although he continued to paint Slovak patriots, the post-revolutionary situation did not allow him to make the portraits greater and larger.  The painter moved to Poland in 1865 where he settled in Lipnik, within the suburbs of the industrial city of Biała (today Bielsko-Biała).  He died of pneumonia on May 20, 1879.

Katarína Beňová