Josef Vojtěch Hellich

Josef Vojtěch Hellich (17 April 1807 – 22 January 1880) was a Czech painter and archaeologist known mainly for religious works and historical scenes.

With a recommendation from František Palacký, he became involved in the activities of the National Museum; becoming custodian and documentarian for the new archaeological collections.

In the following years, he gathered items for the museum from Kouřim, Žatec, Tábor and České Budějovice; including ornaments from prehistoric burial sites.

Together with his fellow painter Vilém Kandler and the writers Ferdinand Břetislav Mikovec and Karel Zap [cs], he published Starožitnosti a památky země České (Antiquities and Monuments of the Czech Lands).

He died in Prague on 22 January 1880, after contracting typhoid fever from drinking well water that had been contaminated by a flood.