Rihard Jakopič (12 April 1869 – 21 April 1943) was a Slovene painter. He was the leading Slovene Impressionist painter, patron of arts and theoretician. Together with Matej Sternen, Matija Jama and Ivan Grohar, he is considered the pioneer of Slovene Impressionist painting.
Rihard Jakopič was born in Krakovo, a suburb of Ljubljana, the capital of Carniola in the Austria–Hungary, now Slovenia. His father, Franc Jakopič, was a well-situated tradesman with agricultural goods. His mother was Neža, née Dolžan. Rihard was the youngest of eight children.
Jakopič studied at the intermediate secondary school from 1879–1887. After passing an entry exam, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, for a short time returned home due to an illness, and then resumed his studies in 1888. In 1889, he entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and in 1890, the Ažbe Art School in Munich. Then he lived in Ljubljana, where he participated in the establishment of the Slovene Art Society, and after 1902 in Škofja Loka. In 1903, he continued his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Jakopič returned to Ljubljana in 1906. He was one of the early members of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, founded in 1938.
Jakopič died at his home in Ljubljana at 1:45 pm on 21 April 1943 after a long and difficult illness. A wake was held at his residence at New Square (Novi trg) no. 2, and he was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery (now Žale Cemetery) on 23 April 1943 after a ceremony at 3:30 pm at Saint Joseph's Chapel.