Vladimir Grigorievich Suteev (1903–1993) — Russian artist, writer, and animation director.
Born in Moscow to a physician’s family, Suteev showed an early passion for art. From the age of fourteen he earned money illustrating charts for exhibitions and diplomas for sports competitions, and later worked as a hospital orderly and a physical education instructor. He first studied at the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, then transferred to the Art Department of the State College of Cinematography, where he joined an experimental animation group and made his debut as an animator in China in Flames.
After graduation, he worked at Mezhrabpomfilm and later at Mosfilm, contributing both as artist and director. In 1936, Suteev became one of the founding animators at Soyuzmultfilm, the main Soviet animation studio. After World War II, he taught drawing and animation there before leaving the studio in 1948.
Alongside his work in animation, Suteev wrote and illustrated children’s books. From his youth, his drawings appeared in the magazines Pioner, Murzilka, and Iskorka. Starting in 1947, he collaborated with the publishing house Detgiz, illustrating works by well-known authors such as Korney Chukovsky, Samuil Marshak, Sergei Mikhalkov, and Gianni Rodari. His first original book, Two Fairy Tales about a Pencil and Paints, appeared in 1952.
Over his lifetime, Suteev wrote around forty animation scripts and numerous witty and lively fairy tales. His picture books, filled with warmth, humor, and instantly recognizable illustrations remain classics of children’s literature and continue to be reprinted today.
Original title: Приключения Чиполлино In 1956, Detgiz published the first Russian edition of Gianni Rodari’s The Adventures of Cipollino, illustrated by Vladimir G. Suteev. For generations of readers, the charming vegetable characters from Rodari’s beloved tale remain inseparable from the images created by Suteev’s hand. Later illustrators of Cipollino rarely […]
