Heinz Edelmann (20 June 1934 – 21 July 2009) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

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illustrator and designer. His

art direction Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to super ...

and character designs for

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' 1968 animated film '' Yellow Submarine'' brought him additional recognition around the world.

Life and career

Edelmann was born in

Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway junction. ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, into the German-Czech family of Wilhelm and Josefa (née Kladivová) Edelmann. In 1946 his whole family – regardless of mixed ethnic roots – was expelled into Germany and they settled in its western part. From 1953 to 1958 studied printmaking at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf Arts Academy). He began his career as a freelance illustrator and designer for theatre posters and advertising in West Germany. Between 1961 and 1969 he was a regular illustrator and cover designer for the internationally renowned youth magazine ''

twen ''Twen'' was a West German magazine that was published from 1959 to 1971, and known for its innovative design and typography. History and profile ''Twen'' was launched in 1959 as a bimonthly magazine and the first issue appeared in April 1959. ...

''. During 1967–68, he worked on the film '' Yellow Submarine''. From 1968 to 1970 he was a partner in a small animation company in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, but his desire at the time to work on more feature films was not realised. In 1970 Edelmann moved to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and designed book jackets and posters for plays and films. His last use of the style of ''Yellow Submarine'' was in illustrating a book, ''Andromedar SR1'' (1970), about a voyage to

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

. He also designed the cover for a German edition of

Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

's ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'', and illustrated the

Kenneth Grahame Kenneth Grahame ( ; 8 March 1859 – 6 July 1932) was a British writer. He is best remembered for the classic of children's literature ''The Wind in the Willows'' (1908). Born in Scotland, he spent most of his childhood with his grandmother in ...

children's book ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and get ...

''. Between 1972 and 1976, Edelmann taught industrial graphic design at Fachhochschule Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences). He was subsequently Lecturer of Art and Design at Fachhochschule Köln (Cologne University of Applied Sciences) and in 1989 became Professor of Illustration at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart. He designed the 1992 Seville World's Fair mascot, Curro. Edelmann died from

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...

and

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, aged 75.Heinz Edelmann, ‘Yellow Submarine’ Artist, Dies at 75
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Retrieved on July 23, 2009.

References

External links

Lambiek Comiclopedia article.
*

1934 births 2009 deaths Artists from Ústí nad Labem Sudeten German people Deaths from kidney failure in Germany 20th-century German illustrators 20th-century Czech illustrators Czech children's book illustrators German children's book illustrators German fantasy artists Czech fantasy artists German graphic designers Czech graphic designers Psychedelic artists Naturalized citizens of Germany Academic staff of State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart {{Germany-artist-stub