mixed media (watercolor, gouache, pastel) on paper
1956
lower right
27 × 27 cm
framed, mounted, glazed
The group of illustrations for the book O perníkové chaloupce (The Gingerbread House, known in English as Hansel and Gretel) was created by none other than Jiří Trnka, a pioneering figure in Czech animation. Trnka was an exceptionally versatile artist, working as a painter, sculptor, illustrator, costume designer, puppet maker, writer, scriptwriter and animated film director. As an illustrator, his distinctive style quickly established him among the leading artists of his generation. Over the course of his life, he illustrated hundreds of books, most of them for children. His talent was soon recognised by theatre and film professionals, who invited him to join their ranks. From 1936 onwards, he designed both sets and costumes for the National Theatre. In 1945, he co-founded the animation studio Bratři v triku [Trick Brothers Studio], followed in 1947 by the Studio loutkového filmu [Puppet Film Studio]. His puppets and illustrations received numerous international and Czech awards, and in 1958 he represented Czechoslovakia at the World’s Fair, Expo 58.
The presented group dates from 1956, when Trnka temporarily turned away from filmmaking to devote himself fully to illustration. During this period, he produced illustrations for Pohádky tisíce a jedné noci (Tales from the Thousand and One Nights), newly retold and paraphrased by František Hrubín, as well as two books for which Trnka provided both the literary and artistic contributions: Červená Karkulka (Little Red Riding Hood) and O perníkové chaloupce (The Gingerbread House). Each book contained four panoramic double-page illustrations featuring three-dimensional images cut out to stand upright or designed to slide out. Young readers could open the books and view the illustrations as theatrical stage sets. Each volume also included several sheets of card featuring the main characters, which could be cut out, assembled and used to act out the entire fairy tale. These books remain popular to this day and are highly prized by bibliophiles. The present group comprises the original paintings from which the book O perníkové chaloupce was produced. Consisting of ten framed works and one unframed sheet, it represents the most comprehensive surviving body of the artist’s original illustrations for a single publication.
The group comprises the following illustrations:
- Front cover – Hansel and Gretel in Front of the Cottage under a Full Moon (27 × 27 cm)
- Title page – The Heads of Hansel, Gretel and the Witch (20 × 18 cm)
- Interior – Blue Jug and Forest Berries in a Headscarf (13 × 14.5 cm)
- Interior, double-page spread – Scene 1: The Gingerbread House with the Full Moon behind the Chimney (26.5 × 53 cm)
- Interior, double-page spread – Scene 2: Inside the Cottage: Door, Owl and Cat (25.5 × 53 cm)
- Interior, double-page spread – Scene 3: In a Forest Clearing: Hussar, Glowing Oven and Logs (26 × 52.5 cm)
- Interior, cut-out illustration – Unfolded Gingerbread House (27 × 31 cm)
- Cut-out puppet – Hansel (22.5 × 22.5 cm)
- Cut-out puppet – Gretel (23 × 24 cm)
- Cut-out puppet – The Witch (25.5 × 24.5 cm)
- Back cover – Standing Book with a Puppet against a Checked Background (28 × 28 cm)
The title page and the second panoramic illustration from O perníkové chaloupce are reproduced in the artist’s monograph (L. H. Augustin: Jiří Trnka, Prague, 2002, p. 139). The works were assessed during consultations with Prof. J. Zemina and academic painter J. Trnka.
Photographs of all the illustrations can be viewed on the websites www.galeriekodl.cz and www.artslimit.com.
