JÍRI TRNKA

Jiří Trnka (Plzeň, 24 February 1912 - Prague, 30 December 1969) was an illustrator, animator and Czech director, known in particular for his animations of puppets in step one.
Trnka had been in contact with the world of puppets since childhood, because of the dolls and toys that made and sold her grandmother. At the age of twelve he was able to work as a helper in the puppet theater of Josef Skupa, a famous Czech puppeteer. Thanks to his teachings, Jiří learned the art of building and moving puppets. The family's economic difficulties became urgent when Jiri's father, a plumber, went bankrupt; nevertheless Josef Skupa, convinced of the young man's talent, managed to convince the boy's parents to let him attend the Prague Applied Arts School.
As soon as he graduated, Jiří founded a puppet theater, but he did not pursue that occupation for a long time; between 1936 and 1945 he worked as a set designer and illustrator, continuing to make puppets for leisure. Following the cessation of the Second World War and the liberation of Czechoslovakia, the country came under the influence of the Soviet Union, and the film industry was nationalized.
In 1968 he won the Hans Christian Andersen award for illustrators.