![Hrusice CZ Josef Lada bust 323](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Hrusice_CZ_Josef_Lada_bust_323.jpg)
Josef Lada (born 17 December 1887 in
Hrusice,
Bohemia – 14 December 1957 in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
, buried at
Olšany Cemetery
Olšany Cemeteries (''Olšanské hřbitovy'' in Czech, ''Wolschan'' in German) is the largest graveyard in Prague, Czech Republic, once laid out for as many as two million burials. The graveyard is particularly noted for its many remarkable art ...
) was a Czech painter, illustrator and writer. He is best known as the illustrator of
Jaroslav Hašek
Jaroslav Hašek (; 1883–1923) was a Czech writer, humorist, satirist, journalist, bohemian and anarchist. He is best known for his novel '' The Fate of the Good Soldier Švejk during the World War'', an unfinished collection of farcical inc ...
's World War I novel ''
The Good Soldier Švejk
''The Good Soldier Švejk'' () is an unfinished satirical dark comedy novel by Czech writer Jaroslav Hašek, published in 1921–1923, about a good-humored, simple-minded, middle-aged man who pretends to be enthusiastic to serve Austria-Hungar ...
,'' having won the
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
The (German Youth Literature Award) is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's and young adult literature. It is Germany's only ...
in 1963.
The asteroid
17625 Joseflada has been named after him.
Life
Born in the small village of Hrusice in a cobbler's family, he went to Prague at the age of 14 to become an apprentice binder. Entirely self-taught, he created his own style as a
caricaturist
A caricaturist is an artist who specializes in drawing caricatures.
List of caricaturists
* Abed Abdi (born 1942)
* Al Hirschfeld (1903–2003)
* Alex Gard (1900–1948)
* Alexander Saroukhan (1898–1977)
* Alfred Grévin (1827–1892)
* Alf ...
for newspapers, and later as an illustrator. He produced landscapes, created frescoes and designed costumes for plays and films. Over the years he created a series of paintings and drawings depicting traditional Czech occupations, and wrote and illustrated the adventures of ''Mikeš'', a little black cat who could talk.
Lada produced nearly 600 cartoons of the Švejk characters, depicting
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
officers and civil servants as incompetent, abusive and often drunk.
All subsequent editions of Švejk used Lada's illustrations, except for the 2008/2009 Czech edition illustrated by Petr Urban.
Books in English translation
*
*
As illustrator
Gallery
Hrusice CZ birthplace of Josef Lada 185.jpg, Birthplace of Josef Lada
Hrusice CZ villa of Josef Lada_330.jpg, Lada's villa in Hrusice today houses his museum
Svejk 04.png, One of the cartoons from The Good Soldier Švejk
''The Good Soldier Švejk'' () is an unfinished satirical dark comedy novel by Czech writer Jaroslav Hašek, published in 1921–1923, about a good-humored, simple-minded, middle-aged man who pretends to be enthusiastic to serve Austria-Hungar ...
References
External links
Official page(in Czech, from 9/2014 in English)
Satirist, illustrator and landscape painter Josef Lada subject of major retrospective – Czech Radio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lada, Josef
1887 births
1957 deaths
People from Prague-East District
People from the Kingdom of Bohemia
Czech illustrators
Czech comics artists
Czech caricaturists
Czech satirists
Czech children's writers
Czech scenic designers
Writers who illustrated their own writing
20th-century Czech painters
Czech male painters
Burials at Olšany Cemetery
20th-century Czech male artists