Roman Havelka
Roman Havelka (30 April 1877 – 20 June 1950) was a Czech landscape painter, in the Academic style. Life and work
He was born in Jemnice into the family of a poor net maker. When he was eight, they moved to Jihlava. For some time, he had displayed a talent for drawing. A German burgher there was among the first to take note, and offered him support. He was able to study at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, with Stanislav Sucharda and Felix Jenewein. Later, during the school year of 1895/96, he transferred to the Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied with Julius Mařák and Antonín Slavíček. He graduated as a student of Rudolf Otto von Ottenfeld in 1900, then completed his studies in Dresden and Munich. Thanks to a scholarship, he was able to make study trips to Italy and Bosnia. While still  at school, he had become enchanted with the landscapes of Podyjí, to which he had been introduced by his elder colleague, František Bohumír Zvěřina. Many years later, he would do the same for . In 1900, he began exhibiting. He was awarded the  in 1902 and 1903. He also devoted himself to organizing the , and served as its Chairman from 1923. In 1914, he married Marta Měšťan, the daughter of a pharmacist. Not long after, he joined the army and was sent to fight on the Eastern Front. Marta gave birth to a daughter while he was away, and went to live with her parents in Třebíč. When he was discharged, in 1918, he set up a studio in Prague. They were not reunited until 1926, when he was able to buy a home. Later he exhibited abroad, showing his works in Vienna, London, and Berlin. In addition to his paintings, he drew illustrations for several works; notably  Castles and chateaux of the Czech Republic, by August Sedláček. While visiting Znojmo, he died of pneumonia, aged 73. He completed over 3,000 paintings, which have been presented in 70 exhibitions. Streets have been named after him in Znojmo and Jihlava. Selected paintings

Sources
 Regionální osobnosti (Regional personalities), Okresní knihovna, Třebíč, 1995 
 Jaroslav Pelikan: Roman Havelka: Krajinářská tvorba (Landscape Creations; exhibition catalog), , 1977
 Jitka Reissnerová: Roman Havelka: 1877 - 1950 (exhibition catalog), , 2000 
 Jiří Uhlíř: Roman Havelka malíř Podyjí (1877-1950), , 2004

External links

 "Malíř Havelka bojoval s češtinou. Sběratel náhodou objevil jeho dopisy" (The painter Havelka struggled with Czech. Collector accidentally discovered his letters) by Tomáš Blažek @ iRegiony
 Works by and about Havelka @ the National Library of the Czech Republic
 Biography and list of major works @ Znojmo Městská Knihovna

1877 births
1950 deaths
Czech painters
Landscape painters
Academy of Fine Arts, Prague alumni
Deaths from pneumonia in Czechoslovakia
People from Jemnice
Painters from Austria-Hungary
Czechoslovak painters
Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague alumni