Helena Zmatlíková (19 November 1923 – 4 April 2005) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

, especially of

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

. She is among the most published Czech artist in the 20th century. For her works she received numerous awards. She also participated in the

Expo 58 Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (; ), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Belgium, from 17 April to 19 October 1958. It was the first major world's fair registered under the Bureau Internati ...

world exhibition.

Biography

She was born Helena Wehrbergerová on 19 November 1923 in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. Already at the age of 14, she responded to an advertisement looking for a fashion illustrator and succeeded. She first studied at the private Ukrainian Academy, then transferred to the Rotter's School of Drawing and Advertising Graphics, and completed her studies at the Officina Pragensis School. At the age of 18, she married for the first time. During the marriage, which lasted seven years, the son Ivan was born to her. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she worked for the

Melantrich Melantrich (, ) was a large Czech-language publishing house connected with the Czech National Social Party. Established in 1897, the publisher remained in existence until 1999. History In 1897 the Czech National Social Party (ČSNS; no relatio ...

publishing house. She created fashion drawings, illustrations for stories, and colouring books. After the war, she became an illustrator at the State Publishing House of Children's Books (later known as Albatros). In 1951, she married the painter Zdenek Seydl, but they divorced twenty years later. Zmatlíková died on 4 April 2025. She succumbed to the consequences of a stroke. She was buried at the

Vyšehrad Cemetery Established in 1869 on the grounds of Vyšehrad Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, the Vyšehrad Cemetery () is the final resting place of many composers, artists, sculptors, writers, and those from the world of science and politics. The center ...

in Prague.

Work

Zmatlíková's illustrations are considered to be tender and cheerful. Publicist Jaroslav Císař once wrote about Zmatlíková: "''Her handwriting is characterized by a solid contour line and by a drawing that shines with bright colours and evokes a feeling of something familiar and optimistic.''" Zmatlíková's illustrations, which appeared in books published all over the world in more than 20 languages, have been popular with children for decades. She illustrated about 250 books. According to the number of books published with her illustrations, she was the 7th most published artist in Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic in the 20th century. The best known of these include: *

Eduard Petiška Eduard Petiška (14 May 1924 – 6 June 1987) was a Czech Republic, Czech writer, author of more than ninety titles. His books have been translated into dozens of languages and have become popular abroad. Total sales of his works have exceeded ...

's books * Bohumil Říha's ''Honzíkova cesta'' and ''O letadélku Káněti'' *

František Hrubín František Hrubín (17 September 1910 – 1 March 1971) was a Czechs, Czech poet and writer. Biography Frantisek Hrubín was born into the family of a builder at Prague. His family lived in Lešany (Benešov District), Lešany near Prague durin ...

's ''Paleček'' *

Karel Jaromír Erben Karel Jaromír Erben (; 7 November 1811 – 21 November 1870) was a Czech folklorist and poet of the mid-19th century, best known for his collection '' Kytice'', which contains poems based on traditional and folkloric themes. He also wrote ''Pí ...

's ''České pohádky'' * Jan Drda's ''Městečko na dlani'' *

Ludvík Aškenazy Ludvík Aškenazy (24 February 1921 – 18 March 1986) was a Czech-Jewish writer and journalist. Biography Aškenazy was born on 24 February 1921 in Český Těšín. After the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945), German occupation of Cze ...

's ''Putování za švestkovou vůní'' *

Božena Němcová Božena Němcová () (4 February 1820 in Vienna – 21 January 1862 in Prague) was a Czech writer of the final phase of the ''Czech National Revival'' movement. Her image is featured on the 500 CZK denomination of the Česká koruna. Biography ...

's ''Bylo nebylo'' *Josef Kolář's ''Z deníku kocoura modroočka'' *Jiří Žáček's

alphabet book An alphabet book is a type of children's book giving basic instruction in an alphabet. Intended for young children, alphabet books commonly use pictures, simple language and alliteration to aid language learning. Alphabet books are published ...

*Czech edition of

Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil i Lönneberga, Emil of Lönneberga, ...

's ''

The Six Bullerby Children Books by Astrid Lindgren featuring the Six Bullerby Children (in the US released as ''The Children of Noisy Village''): * ''All About the Bullerby Children'' * ''Cherry Time at Bullerby'' * ''Six Bullerby Children'' * ''Springtime at Bullerby'' ...

'' *Czech edition of

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, vicomte de Saint-Exupéry (29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), known simply as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ), was a French writer, poet, journalist and aviator. Born in Lyon to an French nobility, aristocratic ...

's ''

The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (, ) is a novella written and illustrated by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 and was published po ...

'' *Czech edition of

Carlo Collodi Carlo Lorenzini (; 24 November 1826 – 26 October 1890), better known by the pen name Carlo Collodi ( ; ), was an Italian author, humourist, and journalist, widely known for his fairy tale novel '' The Adventures of Pinocchio''. Early lif ...

's ''

The Adventures of Pinocchio ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' ( ; , i.e. "The Adventures of Pinocchio. Story of a Puppet"), commonly shortened to ''Pinocchio'', is an 1883 Children's literature, children's fantasy novel by Italian author Carlo Collodi. It is about the mischi ...

'' The most successful work for adults is the illustrations for

Roark Bradford Roark Whitney Wickliffe Bradford (August21, 1896November13, 1948) was an American short story writer and novelist. Life He attended University of California, Berkeley, and served as a first lieutenant in the Coast Artillery during World War I. ...

's ''

Ol' Man Adam an' His Chillun ''Ol' Man Adam an' His Chillun: Being the Tales They Tell about the Time When the Lord Walked the Earth Like a Natural Man'' is a collection of pseudo- African American folktales written by author Roark Bradford and published in the United Kingdo ...

''. During her lifetime, Zmatlíková did not have many exhibitions, which continues even after her death, as her illustrations are still part of currently published books. Zmatlíková considered the best presentation to be the book itself.

Family

Her son Ivan Zmatlík founded the Artur publishing house, which publishes books with Zmatlíková's illustrations and takes care of copyrights to her illustrations. Zmatlíková nephew is

Pavel Rychetský Pavel Rychetský (born 17 August 1943) is a Czech Republic, Czech lawyer and former politician who was the 3rd President of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. The Senate of the Czech Republic, Senate confirmed him on 16 July 2003 and ...

, a lawyer and politician.

Honours

Zmatlíková participated in the

world exhibition, where she was awarded the Gold Medal. On 19 November 2013,

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

celebrated her 90th birthday with a

Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...

. She has won the Marie Majerová Award three times. It is an award for the best works of children's literature published in the previous year.

References

External links

Biography
– Artur publishing house {{DEFAULTSORT:Zmatlikova, Helena 1923 births 2005 deaths Czech illustrators Artists from Prague Czech women children's book illustrators Czech women illustrators Czech children's book illustrators 20th-century Czech painters Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery