Etienne Delessert: Switzerland Illustrator

Working on a children's book is like working on a film, with large scenes and many details. I came to be a children's book illustrator not necessarily because they were books for children, but because they were picture books.

Etienne Delessert

Born in 1941 in French Switzerland, Etienne Delessert took refuge at a young age in the world of books. Gustave Doré, Grandville, Arthur Rackham, Beatrix Potter, along with Samivel, Béatrice Appia, and Feodor Rojankovsky, and, on a different level, Walt Disney, Hergé, and Pellos, made up the essential aesthetic nourishment of his childhood.

At the age of 18, Delessert began working in a graphic arts studio in Lausanne, Switzerland. Then, he went on to Paris for three years where he learned, as the art director of two Parisian magazines, Formidable and Mademoiselle, how to communicate ideas, how to visualize concepts, and, later, how to tell a story through images.

In a notable career spanning five decades, Delessert has illustrated more than eighty books, some translated into 14 languages, with more than four million copies sold worldwide - from his groundbreaking The Endless Party, created in the 1960s, to his influential collaborations with Eugene Ionesco (Story Number One) and Jean Piaget (How The Mouse...). He has produced animated segments for Sesame Street and his adult illustrations have appeared in popular magazines and newspapers. His sculptures are on display all over the world.

Delessert's contributions to the world of children's literature have garnered him many honors, including prizes from the International Children's Book Fair in Bologna, thirteen gold and a dozen silver medals from the American Society of Illustrators, and the Golden Plaque d'Or, Bratislava, among others.

Denise von Stockar notes that "Delessert has created a surprising universe–effortlessly bringing together chaos and order, the bizarre and the familiar, the grotesque and the friendly, the serious and the joyous. His universe, with inventive images and dramatic storytelling, is painted in magical colors—slightly sweet or very acid—and is filled with strange characters and animals with enigmatic eyes."

Along with Maurice Sendak, Tomi Ungerer, and Leo Lionni, Etienne Delessert was part of the avant-garde movement of the 1960s and 1970s that changed the face of children's literature. Still an innovator, he is now the manager of Ricochet-jeunes.org, a prestigious Internet site covering all aspects of French children's books. Delessert now makes Connecticut his home in the USA.