Viktor Oliva

Viktor Oliva (24 April 1861 – 5 April 1928) was a Czech painter and illustrator.

His most famous painting, Absinthe Drinker , is owned by Zlata Husa Gallery Prague and hangs there.

Life and work Viktor Oliva was an artist focused in drawing, illustration, and painting born in Nové Strašecí, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary on 24 April 1861. His main style was Art Nouveau. At the age of 17, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague and studied under František Sequens, who greatly respected his work. He continued his studies at the Munich Academy.

In 1888, he was drawn to the Montmartre area of Paris to be part of the ever rapidly expanding artistic community there. He lived there for some years and became good friends with other "Bohemian Parisiens" such as Luděk Marold, Mikoláš Aleš, Jakub Arbes, and Karel Vítězslav Mašek. This group of actual Bohemians (from Bohemia) were right in the heart of the "Bohemian Revolution". Not long after that, she gave birth to his son Viktor Oliva Jr. (who also was an aspiring artist). The marriage didn't last long, as Anna ran away with a singer named Mařák. Oliva was still able to spend some time with his son, which brought him much joy.

According to the catalogue of Czech art auction house Meissner-Neumann: "Czech painter and illustrator, he studied under F. Sequens at the Academy of Art in Prague, then in Munich and Paris. He was influenced by the work of his friend L. Marold. He created chiefly portraits and large-scale paintings following the historicizing stream in art. His portraits and large number of illustrations for books by Czech and European authors, as well as his poster designs, testify to the contemporary lifestyle based on the Art Nouveau style."

Notable friends Mikoláš Aleš, artist Jakub Arbes. artist Josef Kořenský, world traveller for whom Oliva illustrated books Luděk Marold, artist Karel Vítězslav Mašek, artist