Avant-garde illustrations in children’s books in 1950-80s in Poland

Abstract

The years 1950–1980 are described as the best period of Polish book illustration. It was the time when illustration for books for children and teenagers reached a very high artistic level, and became a Polish specialty. Its creators have been appreciated and awarded many times, and their works have been presented at world exhibitions. People started talking about the Polish School of Illustration. A group of talented artists, painters and graphic designers began to break more and more with the traditional understanding of the role of children's illustration, so far realistic, primarily intended to educate and inform. Illustrators who worked in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s were not afraid of originality, they used innovative solutions, used various techniques, drew inspiration from nature, and referred to folklore and modern art. Avant-garde style took the young audience as a thinking, sensitive creature open to art. They created works characterized by a sense of humor and poetry in their visual message, which was distinguished by an extraordinary freedom of expression. They gave up cheap moralizing and treated the child as a partner. Thanks to them, the book amazed, surprised, intrigued, attracted the child, shaped its taste, and helped to understand emotions. She was the child's first art gallery.