Ľudovít Fulla
Biography
Ľudovít Fulla was born on the 27th of February 1902 in the city of Ružomberok. He studied at a private art school of Gustáv Mallý in Bratislava, later continued at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague with Professor František Kysela. In 1948-1950 he headed the Department of Monumental Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava. He died on the 21st of April 1980 in Bratislava.
Illustration Features
The artist was a co-founder and a teacher at the Secondary School of Applied Arts. The artist was inspired by the national folk tradition. His illustrations are a symbiosis of original art, transparent simplicity, a unique artistic expression based on innovatory concept and a modern interpretation of the literary work. In his illustrations there are reflected traditions, folk literature, his affection to poetry and songs. The artist is considered a classic of the Slovak fairy tale illustration. His illustrations have two important characteristics: colour composition and a cycle of ink drawings on a neutral ochre background. While his ink drawings are characterized by their inner dynamics, subtlety and a grotesque stylization of figures, for his richly-coloured illustrations their flat depiction and static composition are typical and they make an impression of a snapshot of a theatrical scene, a so called “spyglass” stage, which are actually framed by a curtain or decorated by a flower border, most often made of roses. These tendencies could be seen earlier in his paintings and later they appeared in his illustrations. The artist thus achieved a certain relaxed mood and got free from reality, approaching a decorative effect. He was obviously influenced also by cubism. The originality of his illustrations is in its final form a symbiosis of literary, artistic and musical impulses included in the native folk tradition.
Author of the text: Mgr. Barbara Brathová, art historian
Other areas of creation
Beside illustration his focus was on drawing, painting, stage design, monumental painting and printmaking.
Bibliography of Illustrated Books for Children and Youth
Veršíky pre maličkých (Ľ. Podjavorinská, 1930); O vtáčkoch-letáčkoch (V. Ries, Spolok sv. Vojtecha 1933); Rozprávka o Umbíkoch Macúrikoch (J. Balko, Spolok sv. Vojtecha 1935, 1948); Ivkova biela mať (J. Bodenek, Matica slovenská 1945); Trpaslíkov poklad (M. Príbus, Matica slovenská 1948); Soľ nad zlato (B. Němcová, Smena 1952, Mladé letá 1960); Slovenské rozprávky (E. Chmelová, SNDK 1953, 1955); Zlatá podkova, zlaté pero, zlatý vlas (M. Rázusová-Martáková, SNDK 1954, Mladé letá 1959, 1967, Tatran 1984 a 1985 (v 2 dieloch)); Na veselej posiedke (M. Rázusová-Martáková, SNDK 1956, Mladé letá 1959); O dvanástich mesiačikoch (S. J. Maršak, SNDK 1956); Janko Hraško a iné rozprávky (E. Pauliny, Mladé letá 1957, 1959); Slovenské rozprávky (P. Dobšinský, Mladé letá 1961, 1968); Trojruža (P. Dobšinský, Mladé letá 1963, 1989, Tercia 1995, Buvik 2004, 2015); Čítanka pre štvrtý ročník základnej deväťročnej školy (E. Klocová, SPN 1964); Spevník pre 5. ročník základných deväťročných škôl (Š. Kantor, SPN 1965, 1976); O veternom kráľovi. O troch grošoch (P. Dobšinský, Mladé letá 1965); Varila myšička kašičku (Mladé letá 1965, 1987, Buvik 1997, 2013); Tři kaštanoví koně a jiné prózy (M. Figuli, Odeon 1971); Slovenské rozprávky I (P. Dobšinský, Mladé letá 1971, 1995, Ikar 2000); Slovenské rozprávky II (P. Dobšinský, Mladé letá 1970, 1990, Ikar 2000); Fulla deťom (Mladé letá 1973, 1982); Kolíska spieva deťom (M. Rúfus, Tatran 1974); Na veselej posiedke : Obrázky národného umeca Ľudovíta Fullu (M. Rázusová, Mladé letá 1977); Zlatá kniha rozprávok Pavla Dobšinského (Mladé letá 2000, 2001).
Literature about the Illustrator
HOLEŠOVSKÝ, František: Besedy o ilustráciách a ilustrátoroch. Bratislava : Mladé letá, 1980, s. 7-23.
Čeští a slovenští ilustrátoři knih pro malé děti. Praha : Albatros - Bratislava : Mladé letá, 1980, s. 66-67.
FULLA, Ľudovít: Okamihy a vyznania. Bratislava : Slovenský spisovateľ, 1983. 335 s.
KUBOVÁ, Matilda – CPIN, Peter: Tvorcovia detskej knihy. 3. dopl. vyd. Bratislava : Mladé letá, 1991. [75] l. ISBN 80-06-00319-X.
ILEČKOVÁ, Silvia: Ľudovít Fulla : knižná tvorba. Martin : Matica slovenská, 1996. Nestr. ISBN 80-7090-382-1.
Slovník českých a slovenských výtvarných umělců 1950 - 1998. II. D – G. Ostrava : Výtvarné centrum Chagall, 1998, s. 311.-312. ISBN 80-86171-02-7.
Umenie pre deti. Edit. Mária Števková. Bratislava : Buvik, 1999. [88] l. ISBN 80-85507-87-0.
BAJCUROVÁ, Katarína a kol.: Fulla 2002. Bratislava : SNG, 2002. 207 s. ISBN 80-8059-060-5.
MIKOLAJ, Dušan: Majstri štetca. Bratislava : Perfekt, 2002, s. 66-67. ISBN 80-8046-214-3.
DORICOVÁ, Dana: Fullov svet fantázie, čara a poézie rozprávok. In Zborník Slovenského národného múzea. Etnografia, ročník XCVI - 2002. Bratislava : Slovenské národné múzeum, 2002, s. 111-122. ISSN 0139-5475.
VESELÝ, Marián: Ľudovít Fulla. In Slovenská detská kniha. Zost. Ľubica Kepštová. Bratislava : Literárne informačné centrum, 2008, s. 36-41. ISBN 978-80-89222-57-5.
BRATHOVÁ, Barbara: Slovak United Imagi Nations. Bratislava : Literárne informačné centrum, 2009, s.42-47. ISBN 978-80-89222-75-9.
BAJCUROVÁ, Katarína: Ľudovít Fulla. Bratislava : Petrus; Slovart, 2009. 374 s. ISBN 978-80-8085-876-6.
KRIŠKA, Fedor: Maľovaný rozprávkar. In Bibiana. 2008, roč. XV, č. 4, s. 21-24. Dostupné na internete:
< http://www.bibiana.sk/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/digital_archive/rocnikxv_4_2008.pdf>. ISSN 1335-7263.
Awards for Illustrations
1966 Fraňo Kráľ Award 1965 for illustrations for children and youth
1976 Hans Christian Andersen Highly Commended
1966 Prize of the Czech Centre for the Book Culture in the competition the Most Beautiful Czechoslovak Books 1965 for the book knihu Varila myšička kašičku (Wee Mouse Made Porridge)
1971 The Most Beautiful Czechoslovak Books 1970 - Slovenské rozprávky II. (Slovak Fairy Tales II.)
1973 Prize of the Slovak Centre for the Book Culture in the competition the Most Beautiful Czechoslovak Books 1972 for the book Okamihy (Moments)
National Artist, twice the laureate of State Prize