Ladislav Josef Trakal (1873–1951) was a Ukrainian-Czech painter, draughtsman, illustrator, designer and educator. One of the foremost representatives of Art Nouveau in Ukraine and the Czech lands, he was a pioneer of Ukrainian Symbolism and one of the figures who laid its foundations. He was also a major figure in Kharkiv’s artistic and educational life at the turn of the twentieth century.

Born on 27 June 1873 in Debř near Mladá Boleslav, then part of Austria-Hungary, Trakal developed an artistic and educational career that connected the cultural worlds of the Czech lands and Ukraine.

His work encompassed painting, drawing, portraiture, landscape, Symbolist and decorative composition, architectural and interior design, illustration and art education. By bringing Central European artistic traditions into dialogue with Kharkiv’s rapidly developing cultural environment, Trakal created a distinctive body of work that belongs to the histories of both Ukrainian and Czech art around 1900.

In Kharkiv, Trakal became an influential teacher. Among his pupils were Vasyl Yermilov, Borys Kosarev, Václav Fiala and Heorhii Tsapok. His teaching helped shape Kharkiv’s artistic and educational environment at the beginning of the twentieth century and influenced a generation that would play an important part in the city’s later cultural development.

After returning to Czechoslovakia, Trakal continued to work as an artist, illustrator, designer and educator. He died in Prague on 1 June 1951. His works and documentary legacy subsequently became dispersed among different countries, institutions and private collections, and a substantial part of his oeuvre remained unknown to the wider public for decades.

The rediscovery of Trakal’s legacy reveals an artist whose career formed an important bridge between Ukrainian and Czech art. The Ladislav Trakal Foundation reconstructs his biography, documents known works, identifies lost and previously unknown works, studies their provenance and prepares an expanded scholarly monograph and catalogue.

This website reflects the current state of the Foundation’s research and will be updated as new documentary evidence and works are identified.