Ondřej Sekora facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ondřej Sekora
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| Born | 25 September 1899 Brno |
| Died | 4 July 1967 (aged 67) Prague |
| Occupation | Writer, Illustrator, painter, journalist, sport reporter |
| Nationality | Czech |
| Notable works | Ferda Mravenec ('Ferda the Ant') Trampoty brouka Pytlíka ('Troubles of Pouch the Beetle') |
Ondřej Sekora (born September 25, 1899, in Brno – died July 4, 1967, in Prague) was a talented Czech artist. He was a painter, illustrator, writer, and journalist. He even studied insects, so he was an entomologist too! Sekora is best known for his amazing children's books. He also helped bring the sport of rugby to Czechoslovakia.
Contents
Life and Achievements
Ondřej Sekora finished high school in Vyškov in 1919. He then started studying law at Masaryk University. In 1921, he began working for the Lidové noviny newspaper in Brno. He was a sports editor, illustrator, reporter, and commentator.
Early Career and Family
In 1923, Sekora married Markéta Kalabusová, but they divorced a year later. From 1929 to 1931, he took private art lessons from Professor Arnošt Hofbauer. The Lidové noviny newspaper moved its office to Prague in 1927.
Sekora married his second wife, Ludmila Roubíčková, in 1931. They had a son, also named Ondřej, a year later.
Challenges During World War II
During World War II, life became very difficult for Sekora. In 1941, he lost his job and was removed from the Federation of Czech Journalists. This happened because his wife, Ludmila, was of Jewish origin. The family faced persecution from the Germans because they were considered "racially mixed."
From October 1944 to April 1945, Sekora was held in German labor camps. These camps were in Kleinstein (Poland) and Osterode (Germany). His wife was sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. In Osterode, Sekora became friends with Czech actor Oldřich Nový. They even tried to create a puppet theatre in the camp. Both Sekora and his wife survived their imprisonment. He later wrote about his experiences in his diary.
Post-War Work and Recognition
After World War II, Sekora worked as an editor for magazines like Práce (Work) and Dikobraz (Porcupine). From 1949, he also led a section of the Státní nakladatelství dětské knihy (SNDK). This was the State Publishing House of Children Books.
In his later years, Sekora focused only on painting, writing, and illustrating. In 1964, he received the Meritorious Artist title. In 1966, he won the Marie Majerová Prize. He stopped his public activities in 1964 after having a heart attack. Ondřej Sekora passed away in 1967 and is buried in Prague-Košíře.
He was a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. After the war, he actively helped with the Communist Party's public messages.
Rugby Pioneer
Sekora trained the first Czech rugby clubs. These included Moravská Slávie in Brno-Pisárky and AFK Žižka Brno. He also created the Czech words used in rugby. He helped start and edit the magazine Sport.
An asteroid discovered in 1999, 13406 Sekora, is named after him.
Rugby in Czechoslovakia
Ondřej Sekora played a big role in bringing rugby to Czechoslovakia. He had lived in France and returned in 1926 with a rugby ball and the rules of the game.
The city of Brno is known as the birthplace of rugby in Czechoslovakia. The very first match took place there. It was played between SK Moravská Slávie and AFK Žižka, both from Brno. Sekora trained both of these teams. He also invented the Czech language terms used in rugby.
Artistic Style
Sekora became very popular for his comic strips. These were published in Lidové noviny in the 1930s and early 1940s. He found inspiration from famous cartoonists like Walt Disney, Wilhelm Busch, and Albert Dubout.
His short stories were full of humor and funny situations. His art style was lively and energetic, with clear outlines. He often added short poems (quatrains) to his drawings. His verses were sometimes inspired by everyday folk speech. He is famous for creating the beloved cartoon characters Ferda Mravenec ("Ferda the Ant") and Brouk Pytlík ("Pouch the Beetle").
Selected Works
Books
- Rugby, jak se hraje a jeho pravidla ("Rugby, How to Play It and the Rules") (1926, translated from French)
- Ferda Mravenec ("Ferda the Ant") (1936)
- Ferda Mravenec v cizích službách (1937)
- Ferda v mraveništi ("Ferda in the Anthill") (1938)
- Ferdův slabikář ("Ferdas Primer") (1939)
- Trampoty brouka Pytlíka ("Troubles of Pouch the Beetle") (1939)
- Malířské kousky brouka Pytlíka (1940)
- Kuře Napipi a jeho přátelé ("The Chicken Napipi and its Friends")(1941)
- Uprchlík na ptačím stromě (1943) (awarded at the Expo 58 in Brussels)
- Ferda cvičí mraveniště (1947)
- Kronika města Kocourkova ("The Chronicles of the Town of Kocourkov") (1947)
- Jak se uhlí pohněvalo (1949)
- Pohádka o stromech a větru (Fairy Tale about the Trees and Wind") (1949)
- O zlém brouku Bramborouku (1950)
- Ferda Mravenec ničí škůdce přírody (1951)
- Malované počasí (Painted Weather") (1951)
- O traktoru, který se splašil (1951)
- Mravenci se nedají (1954)
- Na dvoře si děti hrály (1955)
- Čmelák Aninka ("Aninka the Bumblebee") (1959)
- Hurá za Zdendou (1960)
- O psu vzduchoplavci (1961)
- Pošta v ZOO ("Post in ZOO") (1963)
The first three books about Ferda Mravenec (Ferda the Ant) were later published together. This happened in the 1960s under the title Knížka Ferdy Mravence (The Book of Ferda the Ant).
Both books about Brouk Pytlík ("Pouch the Beetle") were published together starting in 1969. This combined book was simply titled Brouk Pytlík.
Comics
- Voříškova dobrodružství (1926)
- Jak Cvoček honil pytláka (1932)
- Kapitán Animuk loví v Africe (1934)
- Hej a Rup (1935)
- Slavnost u broučků (1938)
- Kousky mládence Ferdy Mravence (1950)
- Nápady kuřete Napipi (1961)
- Kapitán Animuk opět loví v Africe (1972)
Book Illustrations
Ondřej Sekora also illustrated books by other authors:
- Jindřich Plachta: Pučálkovic Amina (1931)
- Vladislav Vančura: Kubula a Kuba Kubikula (1931)
- Hugo Vavris: František Lelíček ve službách Sherlocka Holmese (1932)
- František Langer: Bratrstvo bílého klíče (1934)
- Jiří Weiss: O věrné Hadimršce … a co se kolem ní sběhlo (1935) published by Melantrich
- Arthur Ransome: Zamrzlá loď kapitána Flinta (1937)
- Josef Kopta: Smějte se s bláznem (1939)
- Jarmila Hašková: Z notesu svatého Petra (1940)
- Jan Karafiát: Broučci (1940)
- Josef Věromír Pleva: Malý Bobeš (1941)
- Ema Tintěrová: Veselé příhody kozy Lujzy a kocoura Bobka (1942)
- Jan Malík: Míček Flíček (1946)
- Mikhail Zoshchenko: Psí čich (1946)
- Eduard Štorch: Lovci mamutů na Bílé skále (1946)
- Václav Čtvrtek: Lev utekl (1948)
- František Němec: Soudničky (1948)
- Ema Řezáčová: Dům na kolečkách (1948)
- Václav Lacina: Slyš a piš ("Listen and Write") (1949)
- Jarmila Minaříková: Ježourek a Pišta, jeho bratr (1949)
- Irina Karnauchová: Chytrý sedláček a jiné pohádky ("Clever Peasant and Other Fairytales")(1954)
- Gianni Rodari: O statečném Cibulkovi ("The Adventures of the Little Onion") (1955)
- Jan Hostáň: Švitořilky (1961)
