Cover for 'Jak Jeden Malarz Chciał Namalować Szczęśliwego Motyla' (How One Artist Wanted to Paint a Happy Butterfly) by Irena Jurgielewiczowa with illustrations by Janusz Grabiański, photo: promo materials Illustrating tends to be a job for loners, but you can also come across harmonious artistic duos, such as Bożena Truchanowska and Wiesław Majchrzak, a married couple who co-created and co-funded the Polish School of Illustration. In their golden era between the 1960s and 1970s, the couple were among the most frequently awarded artists. Their books are carefully designed works of art – full of soft paintings and decorative elements. In spite of their differences in drawing techniques, they were able to create a harmonious and poetic message, which can be seen in their butterfly illustrations for Ewa Szelburg-Zarembina’s poem, for example. These insects can be also found in Kazimiera Iłłakiewiczówna’s Zwierzaki i Zioła (Animals and Herbs) illustrated by Janusz Grabiański, whose sophisticated and precise painting technique emphasises the sense of motion.
The visual artist and entomologist Jerzy Heintze was a great expert on the world of butterflies. He shaped the aesthetic illustrations of Hanna Zdzitowiecka’s Bardzo Dziwne Owady (Very Strange Insects). Its cover features an illustration of a puss moth with its characteristic, long, thin tails, called flagella, which it uses for defence.
The turn of the 1990s did not bode well for Polish illustration. Its development was halted because of the commercialisation of publishing houses, the disappearance of commissions, and the growing popularity of undemanding American aesthetics. However, at the beginning of the 21st century, graphic design in Poland started to regain its former splendour thanks to a new generation of artists. One of their representatives is Emilia Dziubak, the author of illustrations for the Polish edition of Mary Norton’s bestselling series about the Borrowers family, among others. These tiny human-like creatures living beneath the floors of old buildings have to be ready to face such dangerous situations as encounters with a hairy, brown moth. During her studies, Dziubak created an entire series about insects with human traits. Her narrative pieces bear the traits of various inspirations from classical painting, whereas the dynamics of the characters puts her in the same class as modern animators.
Woodlice
