After completing his secondary education in Prague Slavíček studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague under Professor Julius Mařák (1887−1899). After Mařák’s death he was appointed temporarily as head of the studio. His oeuvre was influenced by Antonín Chittussi and he also drew on elements of contemporary European landscape painting. During his time at the Academy in 1898 he started using coloured smears to suggest move- ment and vibration. After abandoning the Realism of Mařák he created his own personal form of Impressionism and became the most prominent exponent of that exceptional style in the Czech art world. His oeuvre displays a certain sense of melancholy and sadness and his work with light and shadow is unique. At the beginning of the 20th century his chief inspiration was the landscape of the Bohemian−Moravian Uplands and the Iron Mountains. He would later paint secluded parts of Prague and countryside scenes to which he was strongly drawn. In 1907 he undertook a momentous study trip to Germany and France. On his return he lived mostly in Prague and Luhačovice.