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

Georg Georgiev (L) and Sultan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi.

Bulgarian foreign minister meets Qatari counterpart in New York

Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev met Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sultan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi , on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Mr Georgiev said that Bulgaria was keen to expand..

published on 9/25/25 7:07 PM

Temperatures will drop noticeably toward the end of the week

Over the next 24 hours, cloud cover will be mostly significant. There will be rain showers in some areas of Western Bulgaria and the far southeastern regions. A light to moderate wind will blow during the night. On Friday, there will be..

published on 9/25/25 6:40 PM

Protesters gather outside DPS-New Beginning HQ to support Varna Mayor

Citizens gathered outside the Sofia headquarters of DPS-New Beginning to protest in support of the detained mayor of Varna, Blagomir Kotsev. Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev remains in custody; MEPs call for sanctions against Bulgaria Organised by..

published on 9/25/25 5:04 PM