Karel Franta (1 May 1928 – 19 July 2017) was a Czech painter and illustrator.

Life

Franta was born in

Libčice nad Vltavou Libčice nad Vltavou (german: Libschitz an der Moldau) is a town in Prague-West District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,500 inhabitants. It lies on the left bank of the Vltava River. Notable people * Miroslav ...

, and studied as a graphic designer in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. He collaborated with important designers for children, including Jiří Trnka and Helena Zmatlíková. Later he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts at Miloslav Holý and Vladimír Sychra. After graduating, he was an illustrator for children's magazines, and also illustrated several children's books, including "The Lion Leopold" by

Reiner Kunze Reiner Kunze (born 16 August 1933 in Oelsnitz, Erzgebirge, Saxony) is a German writer and GDR dissident. He studied media and journalism at the University of Leipzig. In 1968, he left the GDR state party SED following the communist Warsaw Pact ...

. His interests included music: several of his illustrations deal with musical themes. He was awarded the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

Grand Prix, and was enrolled in the International Children's Book Association. He organized numerous individual and collective exhibitions.

Death

Franta died of a heart attack following a long illness, surrounded by family.Karel Franta died (tn.nova.cz)
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franta, Karel 1928 births 2017 deaths Czech painters Czech male painters Czech illustrators People from Prague-West District