Mirko Hanák: The World of His Picture Books and Stamps

2026年11月7日

Illustration of birds by Mirko Hanák — Mirko Hanák, *Tales of the Birds* (1983 edition)

Today I’d like to introduce the stamp designs of Mirko Hanák, a painter and illustrator who worked in Czechoslovakia.

TOC

About Mirko Hanák

Mirko Hanák (1921–1971) was a painter who, over a life of just 50 years, illustrated books — above all, picture books.

His name is sometimes written “Hanaak” in Japanese, but here I use Hanák.

He was born in 1921 in Martin, Slovakia.

After military service, he studied watercolor at the Academy of Arts, Architecture & Design in Prague.

His first picture book, Lovcovy povídky (Hunter’s Tales), was published in 1951.

Lovcovy povídky illustrated by Mirko Hanák, 1951 — Mirko Hanák, *Lovcovy povídky* (Hunter’s Tales), 1951

Today, we would probably call him an illustrator.

Mirko Hanák’s Picture Books

He went on to illustrate some 170 books, most of them published outside Czechoslovakia.

Here are a few of the picture books in my collection.

I can’t read the text of these Eastern European books, but just looking at the pictures fills me with warmth.

In Japan, he illustrated Yoko Yamazaki’s Dobutsu-tachi no Oshaberi (The Animals’ Chatter).

Japanese picture book illustrated by Mirko Hanák — *Dobutsu-tachi no Oshaberi*, published in Japan

From Mirko Hanák’s recollections (summarized)

He would set out early in the morning with a gun, and usually meet animals he hadn’t expected — along with water, grasses and flowers. Once, below a cliff, he spotted a herd of about twenty chamois, all facing left with one leg bent like hurdlers on the starting line. He fired into the air as the starting pistol — and said shooting had never been so much fun.

While Hanák was attending art school after his military service, his parents moved to Jeseník in northern Moravia.

He often visited them and met animals in the mountains there.

According to the Chihiro Art Museum’s book on Chihiro Iwasaki & picture book artists of the world, Hanák loved hunting and fishing, and his experiences & memories of nature are what give his animals their vivid sense of life.

The Japanese picture book artist Chihiro Iwasaki was also a fan of Hanák and collected his work.

The children they painted in watercolor share a similar gentleness.

Girl in a red knitted hat by Chihiro Iwasaki — Chihiro Iwasaki, Girl in a Red Knitted Hat, from *Yuki no Hi no Tanjobi* (Shiko-sha)

The same book notes that Hanák excelled at painting animals, capturing their supple bodies with the fewest possible lines — and that he had a remarkable gift for capturing their expressions.

Mirko Hanák’s Stamps

Compared with Karel Svolinský, who was active at the same time, Hanák designed relatively few stamps.

In the Czechoslovak era, four issues — 19 stamps in all — appeared with his designs.

👉 Karel Svolinský’s Stamp Designs, Vol. 1

1. 1963 — Game Animals (6)

Czechoslovak deer stamps by Mirko Hanák, 1963 — Czechoslovakia, 1963 — Game Animals

Six kinds of deer & wild game. Drawing on his hunting experience, Hanák observed these animals in the wild and portrayed them beautifully.

Another hallmark is the grasses & flowers he quietly adds to each scene.

• Dama — fallow deer

• Capreolus — roe deer (the deer in Felix Salten’s original Bambi story)

• Cervus elaphus — red deer (the Japanese sika deer is Cervus nippon)

• Rupicapra rupicapra — chamois

• Capra ibex — Alpine ibex

• Muflon — mouflon (wild sheep)

2. 1965 — International Dog Show, Prague 1965 (6)

Czechoslovak dog stamps by Mirko Hanák, 1965 — Czechoslovakia, 1965 — International Dog Show, Prague 1965

• Slovenský kopov — a scent hound native to Slovakia

• Německý ovčák — German Shepherd

• Pudl — Poodle: good at hunting in water; the name comes from the German Pudel

• Afghánský chrt — Afghan Hound: popular as a show dog in Europe

• Český teriér — Cesky Terrier: bred to hunt underground, and one of the Czech national breeds

• Český fousek — Bohemian Wire-haired Pointer: a bird dog, said to be one of the most popular breeds in the Czech Republic

3. 1971 — Bratislava Biennial of Illustrations (one of the stamps)

Czechoslovak stamps for the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava, 1971 — Czechoslovakia, 1971 — Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava

The tiger at upper left is Mirko Hanák’s work.

It is based on Animal Folk Tales, first published in 1968.

Animal Folk Tales illustrated by Mirko Hanák, 1968 — Mirko Hanák, *Animal Folk Tales*, 1968

On the right is Eva Bednářová (1937–1986) — Grand Prix winner at the 1969 Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava.

At the bottom is Fushigina Takenoko (The Mysterious Bamboo Shoot) by the Japanese picture book artist Yasuo Segawa (1932–2010) — winner of the Grand Prix at the very first Biennial in 1967.

After this, stamps related to the Bratislava Biennial were issued every two years.

(Hanák himself never won the Grand Prix at the Biennial.)

The Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava (Bienále ilustrácií Bratislava) is an international biennial exhibition of original picture book illustrations, held every two years in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Founded in 1967, it is the oldest international award for picture book illustrators and is as prestigious as the Hans Christian Andersen Award.