Karel Franta’s Marvelous Fairy Tale Illustrations

Posted on by Biblioklept

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My mother dropped off several boxes of books, comics, and papers I hadn’t delved into in probably 20 years—stuff I’d left at my parents’ house, intending to retrieve at some point. One book I reacquired was a Czechoslovakian folk and fairy tale collection with the nondescript name Animal Fairy Stories (retold by Alena Benesova and translated into English by Ruth Shepherd), a volume collecting over a hundred stories from all over the globe.

These stories had a tremendous impact on me as a child. Most describe a time “when the world was still young and everything was very different,” an amorphous, shifting world full of tricksters and their dupes, kings always precariously poised to fall and fail, interspecies cohabitation, and lots and lots of death. As important as these stories were in forming my reading habits and taste, the book’s illustrations by Czech artist Karel Franta had an even more profound and unsettling impact on my imagination. His strange, marvelous paintings somehow imprinted on my psyche, mixing in with the horror and joy and fascination that all those early stories entailed. Reading over a dozen animal tales with my own children last night, I was taken aback at how precisely each of Franta’s illustrations was etched into my brain, and how each image burned with its own special humor or terror or confusion or weird delight.

Below are a few of his paintings; I’ve tried to share a sampling that showcases his mix of strange pathos, unsettling humor, and dreamworld evocation.

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Published by Biblioklept

15 thoughts on “Karel Franta’s Marvelous Fairy Tale Illustrations”

  2. This is just about the wierdest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s a pig.. no, it’s a pink elephant… it’s the sun riding a fox…

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  3. […] Karel Franta Abécédaire de Babar, 1934 Willy Schermele, 1941 Maurice Sendak, Little Bear, 1957 Elisabeth Brozowska, Isidore L’Hippopotame, 1969 Wendy Watson, Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes, 1971 Alice and Martin Provensen, The tiger asks Blake for a bedtime story,  from A Visit to William Blake’s Inn, 1981 Christopher Denise Marco Somà Kitty Crowther Puikeprent Rilla Alexander Nicolas Duffaut  Delphine Durand Christian Roux Bedtime Stories 2014-01-27 admin Share ! window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); […]

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  4. […] Karel Franta Abécédaire de Babar, 1934 Willy Schermele, 1941 Maurice Sendak, Little Bear, 1957 Elisabeth Brozowska, Isidore L’Hippopotame, 1969 Wendy Watson, Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes, 1971 Alice and Martin Provensen, The tiger asks Blake for a bedtime story,  from A Visit to William Blake’s Inn, 1981 Christopher Denise Marco Somà Kitty Crowther Puikeprent Rilla Alexander Nicolas Duffaut  Delphine Durand Christian Roux Bedtime Stories 2014-01-28 admin Share ! window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); […]

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  5. […] Karel Franta Abécédaire de Babar, 1934 Willy Schermele, 1941 Maurice Sendak, Little Bear, 1957 Elisabeth Brozowska, Isidore L’Hippopotame, 1969 Wendy Watson, Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes, 1971 Alice and Martin Provensen, The tiger asks Blake for a bedtime story,  from A Visit to William Blake’s Inn, 1981 Christopher Denise Marco Somà Kitty Crowther Puikeprent Rilla Alexander Nicolas Duffaut  Delphine Durand Christian Roux Bedtime Stories 2014-01-29 admin Share ! window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); […]

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  6. […] Karel Franta Abécédaire de Babar, 1934 Willy Schermele, 1941 Maurice Sendak, Little Bear, 1957 Elisabeth Brozowska, Isidore L’Hippopotame, 1969 Wendy Watson, Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes, 1971 Alice and Martin Provensen, The tiger asks Blake for a bedtime story,  from A Visit to William Blake’s Inn, 1981 Christopher Denise Marco Somà Kitty Crowther Puikeprent Rilla Alexander Nicolas Duffaut  Delphine Durand Christian Roux Bedtime Stories 2014-01-30 admin Share ! window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); […]

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  7. […] Karel Franta Abécédaire de Babar, 1934 Willy Schermele, 1941 Maurice Sendak, Little Bear, 1957 Elisabeth Brozowska, Isidore L’Hippopotame, 1969 Wendy Watson, Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes, 1971 Alice and Martin Provensen, The tiger asks Blake for a bedtime story,  from A Visit to William Blake’s Inn, 1981 Christopher Denise Marco Somà Kitty Crowther Puikeprent Rilla Alexander Nicolas Duffaut  Delphine Durand Christian Roux Bedtime Stories 2014-01-31 admin Share ! window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); […]

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  8. […] Karel Franta Abécédaire de Babar, 1934 Willy Schermele, 1941 Maurice Sendak, Little Bear, 1957 Elisabeth Brozowska, Isidore L’Hippopotame, 1969 Wendy Watson, Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes, 1971 Alice and Martin Provensen, The tiger asks Blake for a bedtime story,  from A Visit to William Blake’s Inn, 1981 Christopher Denise Marco Somà Kitty Crowther Puikeprent Rilla Alexander Nicolas Duffaut  Delphine Durand Christian Roux Bedtime Stories 2014-02-01 admin Share ! window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); […]

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  9. […] Karel Franta Abécédaire de Babar, 1934 Willy Schermele, 1941 Maurice Sendak, Little Bear, 1957 Elisabeth Brozowska, Isidore L’Hippopotame, 1969 Wendy Watson, Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes, 1971 Alice and Martin Provensen, The tiger asks Blake for a bedtime story,  from A Visit to William Blake’s Inn, 1981 Christopher Denise Marco Somà Kitty Crowther Puikeprent Rilla Alexander Nicolas Duffaut  Delphine Durand Christian Roux Bedtime Stories 2014-02-02 admin Share ! window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); […]

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  10. […] Karel Franta Abécédaire de Babar, 1934 Willy Schermele, 1941 Maurice Sendak, Little Bear, 1957 Elisabeth Brozowska, Isidore L’Hippopotame, 1969 Wendy Watson, Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes, 1971 Alice and Martin Provensen, The tiger asks Blake for a bedtime story,  from A Visit to William Blake’s Inn, 1981 Christopher Denise Marco Somà Kitty Crowther Puikeprent Rilla Alexander Nicolas Duffaut  Delphine Durand Christian Roux Bedtime Stories 2014-02-03 admin Share ! window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); […]

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  11. […] Karel Franta Abécédaire de Babar, 1934 Willy Schermele, 1941 Maurice Sendak, Little Bear, 1957 Elisabeth Brozowska, Isidore L’Hippopotame, 1969 Wendy Watson, Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes, 1971 Alice and Martin Provensen, The tiger asks Blake for a bedtime story,  from A Visit to William Blake’s Inn, 1981 Christopher Denise Marco Somà Kitty Crowther Puikeprent Rilla Alexander Nicolas Duffaut  Delphine Durand Christian Roux Bedtime Stories 2014-02-05 admin Share ! window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); […]

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  12. […] Karel Franta Abécédaire de Babar, 1934 Willy Schermele, 1941 Maurice Sendak, Little Bear, 1957 Elisabeth Brozowska, Isidore L’Hippopotame, 1969 Wendy Watson, Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes, 1971 Alice and Martin Provensen, The tiger asks Blake for a bedtime story,  from A Visit to William Blake’s Inn, 1981 Christopher Denise Marco Somà Kitty Crowther Puikeprent Rilla Alexander Nicolas Duffaut  Delphine Durand Christian Roux Bedtime Stories 2014-02-16 admin Share ! window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); […]

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  13. […] Karel Franta Abécédaire de Babar, 1934 Willy Schermele, 1941 Maurice Sendak, Little Bear, 1957 Elisabeth Brozowska, Isidore L’Hippopotame, 1969 Wendy Watson, Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes, 1971 Alice and Martin Provensen, The tiger asks Blake for a bedtime story,  from A Visit to William Blake’s Inn, 1981 Christopher Denise Marco Somà Kitty Crowther Puikeprent Rilla Alexander Nicolas Duffaut  Delphine Durand Christian Roux Bedtime Stories 2014-02-19 admin Share ! window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); […]

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  14. I love Karel Franta since i was a child and seen a tale of Rusalka (an ondine) in a czech magazine. I fell in love with that paint and Karel Franta ilustrations.

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  15. I found this post because I had this exact book as a child, and passed it to my own daughter as a treasure. I, like the article author was entranced by the world created by this amazing artist. I am still in awe and enamored of the color, texture, detail, and powerful sensibility of the artist. The only crime is that the cover art was produced by another illustrator. I myself am an artist and was greatly inspired by these illustrations , and still stand in awesome of them. I marvel at the strength an surety of techniques used, and the loving attention of their application. It is something I could aspire to for a lifetime.

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