Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

The doyen of Bulgarian illustration Lyuben Zidarov passed away

The oldest working artist in Bulgaria was 99 years old

4
Любен Зидаров
Photo: Ани Петрова

Master illustrator Lyuben Zidarov passed away on January 3, 2023 before he turned 100, the Union of Bulgarian Artists reports. "We say goodbye to one of the brightest personalities in Bulgarian art over the past century," the union said. 
Zidarov has illustrated the works of about 200 authors. He has been awarded numerous national and international prizes. Several generations of Bulgarians grew up with books with his magnificent illustrations. 
Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales
Among the most significant of these are Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, Scheherazade's Tales, Bulgarian Folk Tales, Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer, Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales and many others. The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain.
He has been chosen by JK Rowling to illustrate the complete Bulgarian edition of the Harry Potter novels, published in 2019. "The illustrator must keep his own face, but he cannot go entirely out of the author, because he illustrates the writer's work. He has to get closer to his world, to his concepts, of course with his own soul and his own plastic vision. ...I have been more concerned with these problems, which have led me to interpretation, than with grafically recreating the literary work." This is how the artist introduced us to his creative laboratory in 2014 in an interview with Julia Petrova of BNR's Hristo Botev programme. 






Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

Gallery

More from category

Ivelin Mihaylov

Bulgaria’s Anti-Corruption Commission probes 'Velichie' party in major property fraud case

Bulgaria’s Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating a large-scale property fraud and money laundering scheme connected to the 'Historical Park', which is associated with Ivelin Mihaylov, the leader of the Velichie party. Those arrested include the..

published on 11/26/25 2:30 PM
Boyko Borissov

Borissov cites EU defence adjustment to claim a 2026 deficit of 2.7%

The ruling party and the opposition argued about the procedure for the Budget Committee meeting before the final vote on the 2006 budget .  Assen Vassilev, chairman of the We Continue the Change party, attempted to block the committee’s extraordinary..

published on 11/26/25 2:15 PM

Agriculture and forestry workers protest for higher salaries

Employees in the agriculture and forestry sector staged a protest in front of the Parliament, demanding higher salaries for workers in departments that are secondary budget administrators. The protest was organized by the National Federation of..

published on 11/26/25 12:34 PM