Viktor Stretti

Viktor Stretti was a painter, graphic artist, and illustrator of Italian descent. He first studied at the School of Applied Arts and the Academy in Praha and from 1898 in München, where he learned the technique of etching. In 1901, he went to Paris for further training and made study trips to Western and Southern Europe. Later he lived in Prague and was an assistant at the School of Applied Arts from 1902.

Stretti was one of the founders of modern Czech graphic art. He created city views (Old Prague), portraits, and figurative motifs and exhibited mainly with the associations “Mánes” and “Hollar”. He was appointed Knight of the French Legion of Honor and was a member of a Prague Masonic lodge. His brother Jaromír Stretti-Zamponi (1882-1959) was also a painter and graphic artist.