3+ Gallery · Český Krumlov Monasteries

Illustration exhibitions with a programme for children

Bestiary by Maurizio Olivotto
reveals a fantastic world in which fish can walk, snakes can fly and cats resemble people.

20. 5. – 15. 10. 2023

For the first time in Central Europe, the Italian artist and acclaimed graphic designer, who was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence and Macerata for more than 35 years, will present his life’s work. Fantastic creatures in the form of five-legged monsters, dragons and mythical characters will take you beyond the boundaries of common conceptions and, together with the accompanying programme for children, will inspire creativity.

The exquisitely crafted intaglio prints and unique art books blend real and imaginary motifs, combine engraving techniques and experimentation with different materials. Olivotto’s rich imagery refers to mediaeval iconography and reflects his interest in mythology.

A place where you can dream with open eyes, where kids have top priority, and where you’ll discover a collection of the finest children’s book illustrations from around the world.

How is this possible?

It all started in 1968 when Otakar Božejovský at 20 emigrated to Switzerland. There, 5 years later, at the suggestion of the artist Štěpán Zavřel, he founded the children’s book publishing house Bohem Press.

It mostly focused on a high artistic level of children’s books, and soon it became one of the most successful of its kind in the world. The titles were, and still are, published in millions of copies in many languages.

During these successful years at Bohem Press, Otakar Božejovský amassed a treasure trove – a collection of more than 600 original illustrations by 30 authors from all around the world.

Parts of the collection have been featured in numerous international exhibitions, e.g. at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, under the auspices of the Spanish Infanta at the Museo di Arte Contemporáneo in Madrid, or at The Itabashi Ward Museum of Art in Tokyo.

Since 2007, when he sold Bohem Press, Otakar Božejovský has been looking for a suitable location for his collection in the Czech Republic, with the desire to create a one-of-a-kind exhibition space for children’s illustrations in Europe.

His dream moved one step closer to realisation in 2022, when the town of Český Krumlov became the proud owner of this unique collection and, together with the Český Krumlov Monasteries and the Secondary School of Arts and Crafts of St. Agnes of Bohemia, gave the green light to the creation of the 3+ Gallery project.

Featured authors

Vlasta Baránková / CZ: Vlasta Baránková (1943) – A Czech artist who lives and works in Brno. She designed toys and puppets, worked in graphic design or exhibition graphics, later also in painting, illustrating children’s books and creating animated series. From 1986 she collaborated with Bohem Press, later with the publishing house Albatros and Bambook (songbooks by Zdeněk Svěrák and Jaroslav Uhlíř). She has presented her work at Czech and international exhibitions and received several awards.
Eric Battut / FR: Eric Battut (1968) – French writer and illustrator. First studied economics and law, later art. He is the author of more than a hundred books, mostly for children. He has won numerous awards, such as the prestigious Bratislava Grand Prix at the Biennial of Illustration (2001). He has published many titles with Bohem Press, among them a series about animals for the youngest readers.
Anatoli Bourykine / RU, AT: Anatoli Bourykine (1950) – Russian illustrator, painter, and architect. He studied at the Moscow Institute of Architecture and during his career he became known mainly for his illustrations of children’s picture books and film posters. His work continues the rich Russian tradition of illustration. During his career he has exhibited in many international galleries. He now lives in Vienna, where he works as a senior graphic designer for the United Nations.
Gianni de Conno / IT: Gianni de Conno (1957–2017) – Italian illustrator, set designer, and president of the Association of Illustrators from 2005-2007. He studied at the Conservatory of G. Verdi and Scuola di Cinema in Milan, where he later founded the art group Bandalarga. He worked at the Scuola del Fumetto, a comics school in Milan. He is one of the most important illustrators in Italy. He has won numerous prestigious awards and exhibited in Italy, Switzerland, Japan, France and the USA.
Jindra Čapek / CZ, DE: Jindra Čapek (1953) – Renowned Czech painter and book illustrator. His works stand out for their colour, subtlety, and detail. Author of illustrations mainly for children’s books (about seventy titles) published in thirty languages. He exhibits his works all over the world. Winner of numerous awards. Born in České Budějovice, he emigrated to Switzerland in 1969, studied in Zurich, Karlsruhe, and Freiburg. He cooperated with Bohem Press (from 1981), after 1989 also with Czech publishing houses. He runs illustrator courses at the summer school in Sarmede, Italy. He currently lives and works in Český Krumlov.
Stasys Eidrigevicius / LT, PL: Stasys Eidrigevicius (1949) – Lithuanian painter and graphic artist. He studied fine arts in Kaunas and Vilnius, has lived in Poland since 1980. He works in a number of artistic fields such as free painting, book illustration, graphics, photography and happenings, installations, and posters. In all his works, a distinctive fantasy and symbolism are interwoven through the use of different techniques. He is the recipient of numerous awards from around the world, including an award for children’s illustration. His work has been exhibited in Europe, the USA, and Japan, which ranked him among the world’s top 100 illustrators.
Sita Jucker / CH: Sita Jucker (1921–2003) – Famous Swiss artist and illustrator, author of books for children and young people. She studied at art schools in Basel, Geneva, and Paris. She worked as a graphic designer. As an illustrator, she has worked with Max Bolliger and Regina Schindler. In her books, she has also dealt with sensitive topics such as coping with the death of a loved one. She has exhibited her work in New York, Tokyo, Vienna, and Paris. Winner of the Swiss Book Prize for Young People (1986).
Svjetlan Junaković / HR: Svjetlan Junaković (1961) – Croatian illustrator of children’s books, painter, and sculptor. He studied sculpture at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan, Italy. He has won a number of prestigious awards, such as the Bratislava Biennial of Illustration. He is currently working at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, where he teaches illustration, drawing, and graphic design. He is also a lecturer at the summer school of illustration in Sàrmede, Northern Italy.
Jan Lenica / PL, FR: Jan Lenica (1928–2001) – Polish graphic designer and animator. He studied architecture in Poland and lived in France and Germany. He collaborated with the renowned director Walerian Borowczyk, together making their debut at the 1958 EXPO exhibition in Brussels. He was part of the success of Polish film posters in the 1960s, and designed posters for the 1972 Munich Olympics and for the films of Roman Polanski. He became the first professor of animation at the University of Kassel and later taught poster and graphic design in Berlin. He has won numerous awards for animation and posters, including one at the Karlovy Vary IFF (1962).
Arcadio Lobato / ES: Arcadio Lobato (1955) – Spanish illustrator. He studied biology and then went to the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. Thanks to his talent, he became a pupil of Štěpán Zavřel in the early 1980s. In 1983 he illustrated a book by Ernest Hemingway, for which he won the prize of the Bratislava Biennial of Illustration. He is the winner of the Best Picture Book of Europe Award. His works have been exhibited in famous museums and galleries.
Giovanni Manna / IT: Giovanni Manna (1966) – Italian illustrator of children’s picture books, born in Florence. He studied in Florence, Bologna, and Venice. He has illustrated over a hundred children’s books and has won many prestigious awards, such as the Premio Andersen and the American Junior Library Guild. He is a lecturer at the summer illustrator school in Sàrmede.
David McKee / GB, FR: David McKee (1935–2022) – British writer and illustrator of children’s books and animated films. He published his first book “Two Can Toucan” in 1964, and in 1968 his famous character Elmer, the Patchwork Elephant (the books have been translated into over twenty languages, Elmer is also successful as merchandise). The most successful series of books include Mr. Benn and King Rollo, which, like Elmer, have been made into films. David McKee is one of the most important British illustrators of all time.
Fiona Moodie / ZA: Fiona Moodie (1952) – Originally from South Africa, she grew up on an apple farm near Cape Town. She came to Europe in the 1970s. She studied in Paris, then lived in Spain and Italy, where she began to illustrate children’s books. She is considered the founder of South African children’s illustration.
Ľuboslav Paľo / SK: Ľuboslav Paľo (1968) – Slovak artist, graphic designer, writer, and illustrator of children’s picture books. He studied in Bratislava, where he currently works at the Academy of Fine Arts. Along with Dušan Kállay, he is one of the most important Slovak illustrators of children’s books.
Marie-José Sacré / BE: Marie-José Sacré (1946) – Belgian painter, sculptor, illustrator, and writer. She studied in Liège. She wrote and illustrated her first children’s book in Japan in the mid-1970s and has since published more than a hundred books translated into twenty languages. She also creates comics and puppets, and illustrations for stories and games. An award-winning artist, her work has been exhibited widely, including at Charles University in Prague.
Hanspeter Schmid / CH: Hanspeter Schmid (1957) – Swiss illustrator of children’s books and professional goldsmith. After training as a goldsmith, he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. In addition to the production of high-end jewellery, he also worked on children’s books in cooperation with the publishing house Bohem Press. As an illustrator, he became particularly famous for his anti-war children’s book about two snowmen, Besenmann und Brillenmann. His works have been exhibited at several prestigious international exhibitions.
Eugen Sopko / SK, DE: Eugen Sopko (1949–2015) – Painter, graphic designer, illustrator, and writer. He studied fine arts in Bratislava and Munich. From the late 1960s until his death, he lived and worked in Germany. He worked mainly in free painting and graphic art but also made a significant contribution to the shape of contemporary European illustration. His poetic variations accompanied a number of books in Germany and other countries.
Ralph Steadman / GB: Ralph Steadman (1936) – British illustrator and cartoonist extraordinaire, best known for his collaboration with the American writer Hunter S. Thompson. He became famous for his political and social cartoons and picture books for children and young people. He has won numerous international awards. His drawings have accompanied Treasure Island, Orwell’s Animal Farm and the bestselling fictional autobiography of Leonardo da Vinci. He has also designed posters for the Royal Shakespeare Company in London and album covers for many world-famous rock musicians.
Emilio Urberuaga / ES: Emilio Urberuaga (1954) – Spanish illustrator and author of children’s books. He also worked in plastic arts, creating illustrations for newspapers and magazines. His work, characterised by simple lines, has been exhibited in various European countries, and is also represented in collections in Tokyo. Together with Elvira Lindo, he is the author of books and an animated series about a ten-year-old boy Manolito Gafotas – the books have also been published in Czech.
Józef Wilkoń / PL: Józef Wilkoń (1930) – One of the most important Polish illustrators as well as a painter, sculptor, and stage designer. He lives and works near Zalesie Dolne near Warsaw. He studied painting and art history. Author of nearly two hundred books for children and adults, translated into twenty languages. His illustrations are realistic, often dealing with the theme of nature. In the 1990s he created a set of animal sculptures called Wilkoń’s Ark. His work has gained international fame and has been awarded many times in Poland and abroad.
Linda Wolfsgruber / IT, AT: Linda Wolfsgruber (1961) – Italian illustrator and graphic designer, studied art in Austria, Germany, and Italy. She lives in Vienna. Author of nearly forty books, mostly for children and young people, translated into seventeen languages. Since 1990 she has been a lecturer at the "Scuola di Illustrazione di Sàrmede".
Štěpán Zavřel / CZ, IT: Štěpán Zavřel (1932–1999) – Illustrator, pupil of Jiří Trnka. In 1958 he emigrated to Italy, studied in Rome and Munich. He settled near the northern Italian town of Sàrmede. Author of children’s books and illustrations for children’s books. He greatly influenced Italian modern illustration for children. Art director of Bohem Press and the Richard Williams cartoon studio in the UK. His legacy is preserved in two museums – the Museo Štěpán Zavřel in Sàrmede and the Museo Artistico “Štěpán Zavřel” at the Brazza Castle near Udine in northern Italy.

Illustration exhibitions with a programme for children

The exhibition of illustrations, set in the exceptional premises of the old monastery, represents a long-term exhibition project, the Collection of Illustrations for Children. More than 600 original pictures by the world's best illustrators will gradually accompany the Czech and foreign author exhibitions, which will open themes connecting the worlds of children and adults at six-month intervals.

Accompanying programme:

Fantasy game / Can an exhibition of illustrations entertain children? Come and find out! A series of creative tasks and quizzes will bring fairy tales closer, keep the minds busy and become the key to a real world of imagination for the little ones.
Explore, play and create! / Enjoy the exhibition without rushing and, in addition to exploring, develop your skills and playful spirit in the exhibition studio full of books. The creative zone, play area and picture book library will keep the whole family entertained.

Opening hours

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Creative playroom

A space full of creative workshops where you can dream with open eyes, explore, play, and create. All this is an interactive exhibition with a historical playroom where children in particular will find the best fun!

Try on Gothic and Renaissance costumes, discover the magic of book printing, become a scribe in the Scriptorium, learn about the healing effects of herbs, and enter the Alchemical Laboratory in the underground. The puppet theatre, Leonardo’s inventions, and wooden toys will entertain the little ones, while the brave can embark on the mysterious Danse Macabre trail hidden in a unique medieval attic.

The interactive exhibition is a playful, creative world set amidst a mysterious monastery where children come first.

Opening hours

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Craft workshops

Enter a world of imagination on Craft Alley, and join your children in a peek into the glassmaking, dyeing, satchel making, blacksmithing, pottery, and bookbinding workshops. Skilled artisans will let you try your hand at traditional crafts and even make your own product during the workshops.

Try your hand at silk dyeing, bookbinding, creating a variety of leather accessories, spinning on a potter’s wheel, working with hot iron, or using 1500°C fire to make beads from special lightweight glass. Each of our workshops is unique and will reveal the specific technique of the craft. Each craft is an art, and art is the 3+ Gallery.

Where to find us

Český Krumlov Monasteries – a unique complex in the historical center of the town, a UNESCO heritage site

The Monastery of Minorites and Poor Clares was founded in the middle of the 14th century by the powerful Rožmberk family. The double convent of brothers and sisters of the Order of St. Francis was founded in 1350 by the widowed Catherine of Rožmberk with her four sons Peter, Jošt, Oldřich and Jan. The first monks came to the monastery in 1357, and a year later the monastery was consecrated by Bishop Albert of Sarajevo. The monastery church was consecrated in honour of Corpus Christi and the Virgin Mary.

In 1361, the first nuns entered the monastery, headed by abbess Elizabeth of Opava. The female element played a significant role in the Český Krumlov monastic culture in the Middle Ages. In 1375, the Minorites and the Poor Clares were joined by a community of pious lay nuns who lived in a building adjacent to the Minorite convent, giving rise to a unique ensemble – the Triple Convent.

The monasteries underwent a challenging and extensive revitalisation, and since 2015 they have been a cultural and educational institution, focused on the presentation of art, history, and crafts. Since 2022 they have served as a unique exhibition space for children’s illustrations in Europe.

We would like to thank the Ministry of Culture for its patronage and support
The Illustrations have been framed by the Larson Juhl picture frame company
The visual style has been provided by the St. Agnes of Bohemia School of Art
Thanks also to the town of Český Krumlov

Bestiary by Maurizio Olivotto reveals a fantastic world in which fish can walk, snakes can fly and cats resemble people.

Český Krumlov Monasteries – a unique complex in the historical center of the town, a UNESCO heritage site

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Bestiary by Maurizio Olivotto
reveals a fantastic world in which fish can walk, snakes can fly and cats resemble people.