Portrait of Josef Šebestián Daubek

With brush and pencil Ženíšek portrayed his industrialist friend Daubek on many occasions, as well as various members of his family. Josef Šebestian knight Daubek (1842-1922) used to be mayor of Polička and of his native Brněnec, deputy of the Czech Diet and member of the Institute for National Economy of the Czech Academy in Prague. At Brněnec he built the biggest steam mills in Bohemia and Austria; Czech industrial schools used to send their students to Daubek's farm at Liteň to see at first hand his agriculture, distilleries and breweries. With the support of prof.Krnis Daubek founded the first distillery school in Bohemia and, actually, in the Austrian part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Daubek's grandfather was the poet Šebestian Hněvkovský, a great admirer of science and art, friend and patron of many Czech artists.