Hynek Martinec
Hynek Martinec (born 12 November 1980 in Broumov) is a Czech-British painter, who graduated from the Studio of Classical Painting Techniques under the supervision of Zdeněk Beran at the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague. After his studies he left for Paris (2005-2007) and since 2007 has been living in London. He received the prestigious BP Young Artist Award (2007) for his hyperrealistic portraits. His paintings are inspired by Old Masters and/or photographs, which link the past with the future, using modern technologies. Life In his hometown of Broumov and its surroundings Hynek Martinec was able to absorb the architecture of Dientzenhofer together with Czech Baroque painting. Since his childhood he drew extensively and already when he was 8–9 years old he discovered the world of classical music. As an 11-year-old boy, in 1991, he was successful in an art competition in Náchod and one painter of the jury offered him private classes and a thorough training in realistic painting. A year later he was taking classes from another painter, who exposed him to the world of abstract art. After finishing primary school Martinec studied design at Uherské Hradiště for one year and then transferred to the Secondary Art School of