What's in a Prague street name

Vikova was built in 1965.

Karel Vik was born in Hořice, near Jičín, in 1883. From 1902 to 1906, he studied landscape painting at the Royal Academy of Arts in Prague.

He won an award for being the best student in his field, and, upon graduating, used this to visit Italy and the Balkans. Within a year, his paintings were being shown at exhibitions, and he was published in the literary magazine Zlatá Praha.

In 1914, Vik won a bronze medal at a graphic exhibition in Leipzig; from this point on, he devoted himself to artistic graphics, especially woodcuts.

Vik joined the Mánes Association in 1915; in 1917, he helped co-found the Association of Czech Graphic Artists Hollar (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/02/28/prague-3-day-163-hollarovo-namesti/ to learn about the man it was named after).

The following year, he moved to Turnov, where, in 1919, his paintings were used to decorate the train station (they’re still there). In 1921, Český ráj (Bohemian Paradise), a cycle of 11 woodcuts, was produced.

Remaining productive in later years, Vik was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist in 1963. He died in Turnov in 1964.