Jan Sovák (13 February 1953 – 14 April 2025) was a Czech

paleoart Paleoart (also spelled palaeoart, paleo-art, or paleo art) is any original artistic work that attempts to depict prehistoric life according to scientific evidence. Ansón, Fernández & Ramos (2015) pp. 28–34. Works of paleoart may be represen ...

ist and painter. He illustrated more than 300 books and created many paintings for scientists including paleontologist

Phil Currie Philip John Currie (born March 13, 1949) is a Canadian palaeontologist and museum curator who helped found the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta and is now a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. In the ...

and dinosaur writer Don "Dino" Lessem. His sculptures and paintings are prominently featured at the Natural History Museum 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 ...

. Many of his paintings depict dinosaurs and other prehistoric life.

Life and career

Sovák was born in

Tábor Tábor (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants, making it the second most populated town in the region. The town was founded by the Hussites in 1420. The historic town centre is well pres ...

in the former

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, and was inspired from an early age by the Czech palaeoartist

Zdeněk Burian Zdeněk Michael František Burian (11 February 1905 – 1 July 1981) was a Czech painter, book illustrator and palaeoartist. Burian's artwork played a central role in the development of palaeontological reconstruction and he is regarded as one ...

. He moved to Canada in 1982, returning to live in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

in 2017 and was living in

Příbram Příbram (; or ''Przibram'') is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It is known for its mining history, and more recently, its new venture into economic restructuring. The town is the t ...

at the time of his death. His work has been published in publications written in more than fifteen languages. More than forty museums around the world house examples of his art on prehistoric animals, and his illustrations have also appeared on educational television, including in twelve films on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

. Sovák died on 14 April 2025, at the age of 72.Odešel muž, díky němuž oživli na plátně dinosauři

Illustrations

Sovák created illustrations for other people's books, such as: *''The flying dinosaurs: the illustrated guide to the evolution of flight'' by Philip J. Currie (1991), published by

Red Deer Press Red Deer Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Leaside, Ontario. It issues trade titles in children's fiction, literary fiction, poetry, drama, belles-lettres, and creative nonfiction focusing on the Canadian Prairies. Red Deer Press was ...

. *''Great Dinosaurs: From Triassic Through Jurassic to Cretaceous'' by Philip J. Currie and V.Z. Spinar (1994), published by Borders Press. *''The Newest and Coolest Dinosaurs'' by Philip J. Currie and C.O. Mastin (1998), published by Grasshopper Books. *''A Moment in Time with Troodon'' by Philip J. Currie and E.P. Felber (2001), published by

Fitzhenry & Whiteside Fitzhenry & Whiteside is a Canadian book publishing and distribution company, located in Leaside, Ontario. It publishes trade titles in children's and young adult fiction, textbooks, reference, history, biography, photography, sports and poetry ...

. *''A Moment in Time with Sinosauropteryx'' by Philip J. Currie and E.B. Koppelhus (2001), published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside. *''A Moment in Time with Albertosaurus'' by Philip J. Currie and E.P. Felber (2001), published by Troodon Productions. *''A Moment in Time with Centrosaurus'' by Philip J. Currie and E.B. Koppelhus (2001), published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside. *''The Great Dinosaurs: A Study of the Giants' Evolution'' by Philip J. Currie and Z.V. Špinar and V.S. Spinar V.S. (2004), published by Caxton Editions.

References

External links

* * https://web.archive.org/web/20071107185025/http://www.wildprehistory.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=52&Itemid=76 1953 births 2025 deaths 20th-century Czech painters 21st-century Czech painters Czech male painters People from Tábor Czechoslovak emigrants to Canada 20th-century Czech illustrators 21st-century Czech illustrators Paleoartists {{CzechRepublic-painter-stub