Although the holiday season has come to an end, it will be a bit of a trip, and actually a sentimental journey to the land of childhood. What reminds us of our puppies and memories more than our beloved childhood books? Today, children have access to books or toys that a generation of today's 30, 40 or 50-year-olds could only dream of. In these "old days" with the stubborn maniac we searched the book we were interested in, and finally her condition was far from the collector, it was dreaded, destroyed, yet still returned to it. More appreciative of what was going on, because whatever it was, it was important and valuable to us. We were attaching to objects, but it was not an attachment to things, and affection, we appreciated the content and the illustrative page, and today we long to remember some copies. In times of huge consumption and access to everything we do not get attached to things, it is difficult to have one beloved book or a teddy bear. Today the shelves in bookstores are all bending away from the weight of fairy tales and all kinds of children's books of varying merit and graphic design. In this thicket you can find real pearls, books not only wise and interesting, but also released with care for graphic design, also reissued classics of children's literature and youth. However, with the redevelopment of old releases, the impression is that it is no longer the same. Because paper is different, because the cover only resembles the one we remember from childhood and spit splash ... Each of us probably has his own beloved books from childhood. However, there is probably no person who does not know the masterful and magical illustrations of Jan Marcin Szancer. b. in Kraków in 1902, a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts and a longtime friend of Jan Brzechwa, he has authored more than 200 books. Andersen's Fairy Tales, Akademia Pana Kleksa, Mr. Doremi i jego siedem córek, Brzechwa's Przygody Króla Jelonka, Tuwim’s Lokomotywa, O Krasnoludkach i o sierotce Marysi by Konopnicka, Pinokio and many, many others. His magical illustrations brought up millions of Polish children.
Olga Siemaszko is an illustrator as popular as J.M. Szancer.
Olga Aleksandra Siemaszko, b. in Krakow in 1911, Polish graphic artist, painter and illustrator of books. In her work, the artist illustrated more than 200 children's books, among others: Wiersze dla dzieci by Tuwim, Baśnie polskie by Januszewska, Alicja w krainie czarów, Paweł I Gaweł by Fredro or Skarżypyta by Brzechwa. Her drawings are characterized by rich colors and the use of moderate grotesque.
Both Jan Marcin Szancer and Olga Siemaszko had a great influence on the education of successive generations of illustrators. Thanks to them the native illustration has gained so good brand. Together with other illustrators working in the 1950s and 1980s, they created the Polish School of Illustration. Other artists who make up PSI include the following names: Wilton, Stanny, Butenko.
Józef Wilkoń, who illustrated nearly two hundred books for children and adults published in Poland and several dozen published abroad. The creator has the unique ability to synthesize the shape of an animal or landscape element with a few quick, determined brush strokes or a feather, his illustrations are realistic.
Janusz Stanny, Polish graphic artist, poster artist, illustrator, cartoonist, caricaturist, professor of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, 1986-2005, was among others author of illustrations to Pan Tadeusz byAdam Mickiewicz, The Bible, La Fontaine's Fairy Tales, Don Quixote, and Fairy Tales by Andersen. He was also the author of animated films. He published his work in "Gazeta Wyborcza".
Bohdan Butenko, Polish illustrator, illustrator and graphic designer, author of comics and books, screenwriter, doll designer and decoration for puppet theaters. His collaboration with the most famous children's magazines: Miś, Świerszczyk or Płomyczk brought him great cheer. His imagination owes much to such figures as Gapishon, Kwapiszon, Gucio and Caesar. His line is simple, comic and completely different from the work of Siemaszko or Szancer, but it is in the canon of children's literature.
These books stimulated our imagination, taught us to play and stimulate the imagination of successive generations of readers. Due to the unique graphic design many of them have resumed their renaissance. However, these classic, old editions allow us to make a sentimental journey to the land of childhood or youth, until the tear of emotion revolves around the eye ...