Rupaki, Pytalik i Krześlaki z rozwianą grzywą, czyli o ilustracjach Elżbiety Gaudasińskiej do poezji dla dzieci

Abstract

ANITA WINCENCJUSZ-PATYNA (Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław) / Rupaki, Pytalik and Krzeslaki with a flared mane, or about Elzbieta Gaudasinska’s illustrations to poetry for children
The dominant area of Elzbieta Gaudasinska’s work is book illustration for children’s and youth literature. A not insignificant part of the artist’s output, covering half a century of activity in this field of art, is connected with poetic works. The greatest development of Gaudasinska’s career occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, and from this period come the illustrations to the four volumes analysed in this article: Daję słowo kolorowe (I give my colourful word) by Jerzy Ficowski (1975), Rupaki by Danuta Wawilow (1977), Krześlaki z rozwianą grzywą (Krzeslaki with a flared mane) by Joanna Kulmowa (1978), and Pytalik by Joanna Pollakowna (1982). The relationship of the oratio vincta to sequences of paintings, individual compositions and the artist’s various graphic treatments have been traced and described in detail. A graduate of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, she has developed a recognizable style, the features of which include a high degree of decorativeness, a flowing contour clearly limiting round forms, and an excellent sense of colour. All these distinguishing features can also be found in the sets of illustrations discussed in the article, often constituting an original visual interpretation of the lyrical substance.