Antoni Boratyński

Antoni Boratyński illustrated dozens of children’s books, fairy tales and fables, but he also created graphics for tomes of poetry. And it is precisely the poetic quality that resonates most strongly from all his works.

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Antoni Boratyński, photo: Jacek Łagowski/AW

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Antoni Boratyński was born in Garwolin, a town in the south-eastern part of Mazovia. He began his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, and between 1951 and 1956 he studied at the Academy of Art in Budapest. It was there that he defended his diploma at the Faculty of Graphic Arts, under György Koneczny. Although he very soon turned to applied graphics and especially book illustration in his professional life, he did not stop his other artistic activities: he was interested in painting, drawing and was a member of the XYLON International Association of Wood Engravers, founded in Zurich in the 1950s. His linocuts and woodcuts are in the collection of the Zachęta National Gallery of Art – and they are works of a very different nature from book illustrations. The works Rozstrzelania [Shooting], Oswobodzenie Więźniów [The Liberation of Prisoners], Wrzesień 1939 [September 1939] – are austere, black and white, rhythmic compositions that process the author’s war memories.

As an illustrator, Boratyński has worked with many publishing houses, including Nasza Księgarnia, Iskry, Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza, Globe – these are Polish publishers. But it does not stop there: books with his illustrations have also been published far beyond Poland’s borders, not only in Europe, but also in Asian countries (China, Japan, Korea), in Australia or Brazil. As a result, he was repeatedly awarded for his work not only in Poland, but also outside of it; in 1978, he made it onto the IBBY Honour List, which has included the most outstanding books for children and young people from all over the world since 1956; Boratyński was included there in the Illustrator category for his visual design of the book Droga Księżycowa [Lunar Road] by Maria Kann. Twice the Polish Society of Book Publishers awarded the work of the illustrator with the title ‘Most Beautiful Book of the Year’; in 1976 he received the Prime Minister’s Award for his work in the field of children’s book illustration. Boratyński has won awards in competitions (e.g. for illustrations to the Bible, the competition was held in Hamburg) and reviews (for example, at the Biennale of Illustration in Bratislava or the IBA International Exhibition of Editorial Art in Leipzig).

Antoni Boratyński’s book illustrations, especially those from his children’s publications, have a recognisable style. Painted softly, without clear contours, they are usually maintained in a limited range of colours. They are poetic, sometimes even surrealistic, and the scenes are filled with fantastic creatures, mysterious lands, flying people and unusual animals. The subdued colours and mysterious fog that envelops the illustrations make Antoni Boratyński’s works sometimes disturbing and dark, but because of their lack of literalism, they have a strong impact on the imagination.

The artist created illustrations to children’s books, collections of fairy tales and fables, but also to the works of poets, Adam Mickiewicz, Bolesław Leśmian, Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński. The atmosphere of the paintings, the way they were painted or drawn, was matched by the author to the type of text. A volume devoted to the fairy tales of Jan Sztaudynger devoted to animals is illustrated with black and white graphics showing successive characters of rhyming tales, while the collection Przedziwne Śląskie Powiarki [Uncanny Silesian Fables] by Gustaw Morcinek is a series of colourful paintings depicting misty landscapes populated by mysterious characters. Illustrations to fairy tales by Janina Kulmowa or Hanna Januszewska can be dark, full of tension; an extraordinary wealth of fantastic landscapes, characters and scenes can be found in the paintings created for the well-known youth novel The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (which has its well-known film adaptation). Antoni Boratyński has also created an unreal, poetic world in his book Szalony Zegar [The Crazy Clock], which he created together with the art historian, surrealism researcher and translator of works from this particular field, Agnieszka Taborska.

Antoni Boratyński’s unconventional imagination and ability to translate stories into unrealistic scenes were encapsulated within a coherent framework of authorial style, in which strictly graphic and painterly elements were intertwined.

Translated by Patryk M. Grabowski

antoni boratyński

book illustrations

children's illustration