Hans Zatzka, also known as P. Ronsard,Zabateri, Pierre de Ronsard, Joseph Bernard and Bernárd Zatzka, was born March 8, 1859 in Vienna, to a builder and his Viennese actress wife, Hilde Sochor. Zatzka showed an early interest in painting. From 1877 to 1882 he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, studying under Christian Griepenkerl, Karl Wurzinger, and Carl of Blaas. In 1880, at the age of 20, he was awarded the Golden Fügermedal; the golden decoration for services to the city Vienna. After several trips to Italy, Hans worked in the style of his predecessor, Hans Makart, as a free-lance painter in Vienna, painting ceiling frescoes in stairway houses and residential buildings, numerous murals for altars in churches, and portraits. It was during this time that he developed as special interest in academic genre paintings of idyllic women and cupids.Hans Makartacademic Vienna, Austria