Anton
Romako

At the age of 15 years Romako entered the Vienna Academy of fine arts and then worked in Vienna and Munich. In 1857-1875 he lives in Rome and writes historical and genre paintings. In 1876 he returned to Vienna, where he will remain until the end of life. Popular in his youth, the artist died in loneliness and poverty. The exhibition, organized in Vienna in 1905, attracted a wide audience.

Anton Romako was born in Atzgersdorf (now a district of Vienna). The illegitimate son of factory owner Josef Lepper (Lepper Josef) and Archduchess Maria Anna Romako (Elisabeth Maria Anna Romako). He studied painting at the Vienna Academy (1847-1849), but his teacher, Ferdinand Georg, Waldmuller, considered him talentless. Later he studied in Munich (1849) Wilhelm von Kaulbach, then to Venice, Rome and London. In the early 1850-ies he took private lessons from Karl Rahl in Vienna, whose style took over. In 1854 began his travels in Italy and Spain and in 1857 settled in Rome, where he painted portraits, genre scenes and landscapes for the local foreigners.

In 1862 he married Sophie Kebel (Sophie Köbel), daughter of architect Carl Kebele, Anton and Sophie were born 5 children, but in 1875, their marriage breaks because of lover Sophie. In 1876 Romako returned to Vienna but could not successfully resist the new style, represented by Hans Makarem, lives mainly on the wealthy patrons such as the Earl of Kufstein (Kuefstein). Anton goes to study in Hungary, Italy and France, 1882-1884 years living alternately in Paris, then in Geneva. In 1887, his two daughters, Mathilde and Mary, committed suicide, from this blow Romako could not recover until the end of life. The last years of his life were spent in poverty near Vienna, where he died in 1889. Romako was buried at the Central cemetery (Zentralfriedhof) in Vienna.

In 1953, in honor of the artist was named street (Romakogasse) in his native Atzgersdorf. Picture of romako "the Battle of Lisa" served as a prototype for the commemorative coins 20 Euro dedicated to the armored frigate "Archduke Ferdinand Max", released on 15 September 2004.

His brother Anton, Joseph von Romako (Joseph von Romako), was a shipbuilding inspector in AustroHungarian the Navy.