Although Slovene by birth, painter Ivan Žabota created his greatest works in Slovakia where he lived from the end of World War I until his death in 1939. In the 1920's he was the leading portrait painter in Bratislava, but kindled a great deal of interest also by his more or less bohemian life-style. The article therefore does not attempt to be a classical biography or an outline of Žabot's artistic opus, but tries to tell the story of an intriguing man and artist who is now almost forgotten in Slovenia, about his character, habits, ideas, and his destiny.