Josef Lada (1887 – 1957)
Josef Lada was a Czech painter and writer. Famous for his village scenes and cartoon like figures, he is most famous for his illustrations of Jaroslav Hašek’s The Good Soldier Švejk. Lada also wrote his own children’s books, the most well known being the Adventures of Mikeš, a magical book about a lovable and curious black cat that could talk. His distinct naïve style has won him many a fans over the years and his simple village scenes continue to win the hearts of locals and tourists alike in the Czech Republic. His hugely popular caricaturist style of drawing was entirely self-taught. He was the recipient of the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis award in 1963 for children’s literature. He is buried at the Olšany Cemetery in Prague.
