Emil Rizek was born on May 31, 1901 in Vienna, Austria, the son of an electrical engineer. Although his father wanted him to become an engineer as well, young Rizek took private art instruction with Anton Hlavatschek and with Carl Fahringer, a professor from the Viennese academy. In the 1920s Rizek traveled to Italy, France, Germany and Holland where he was associated with the “School of the Hague”, a group of Dutch Impressionists. Finding himself unable to earn a living in Vienna, Rizek decided to travel the world in a search of adventure and artistic inspiration, recording his travels with paintings and drawings.