The foundation
Štěpán Zavřel Foundation
Born from the artistic and human experience of the master Štěpán Zavřel, the Foundation focuses on research and education in the field of children’s editorial illustration. Its headquarters is the Casa della Fantasia in Sarmede, a small village in the Treviso Prealps, recognized as an international center for illustration.
The Štěpán Zavřel Foundation is dedicated to research and education in the field of children’s editorial illustration. It originates from the artistic and human experience of master Štěpán Zavřel (Prague, 1932 – Sarmede, 1999), who, in 1968, chose Sarmede as the ideal place to create and transmit knowledge. The small village in the Treviso Prealps quickly became an innovative center for illustration, where young talents gathered, fascinated by the master’s teaching.
The Foundation has been awarded the Andersen Prize twice: in 2010 as an organization promoting the dissemination of books and reading, and in 2012 for the book “Nel bosco della Baba Jaga, fiabe dalla Russia” (In the Woods of Baba Yaga, Fairy Tales from Russia), published in collaboration with Franco Cosimo Panini. In 2024, it received the Jiří Trnka Award 2024, presented by the University of West Bohemia, Faculty of Art and Design, for its work in support of illustration. The Štěpán Zavřel Foundation is supported and collaborates with the Veneto Region, the Province of Treviso, and the Municipality of Sarmede.
On the cover: Štěpán Zavřel, The Knight (study) from “Il ritorno di Ario. Da Ciro Il Grande a Ciro Il Piccolo”, Quadragono, Conegliano, 1974
The Foundation’s three souls: the Exhibition, the School, and the Museum
The heritage of artistic and educational knowledge becomes a tangible experience in the annual International Illustration Exhibition ‘Le Immagini della Fantasia’, founded in 1983, and in the International School of Illustration, founded in 1988. The Exhibition has been visited by over two million people and has, from the outset, been characterized by a traveling spirit, reaching significant cultural institutions such as the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Kindermuseum in Frankfurt, the United Nations Palace in Geneva, and the Museum of Modern Art in Shaanxi, China.
The School is active throughout the year, offering a specialized educational program both in person and remotely, designed for those working in the arts, from illustration to writing, and in education. Additionally, the accreditation of the Štěpán Zavřel Foundation by the Ministry of Education and Merit allows some courses to be included in the S.O.F.I.A. platform, enabling the use of the teacher’s card.
Alongside the Casa della Fantasia, the Municipality of Sarmede houses the Štěpán Zavřel Museum, whose exhibition path offers an opportunity to reflect on the legacy left by the Maestro through the display of sixty original works.
Furthermore, starting in 2024, the Foundation presents the permanent exhibition Il Sole Ritrovato. Illustration of the Second Half of the 20th Century in Sarmede, which tells a significant chapter of the history of children’s illustration through seventy original works from the Foundation’s collection.
Animated illustration: Gerda Dendooven, Lire-sur-l’herbe, serigraphy
Casa della Fantasia
The headquarters of the Štěpán Zavřel Foundation is a multifunctional center for illustration and books.
Štěpán Zavřel Museum
A small path to explore the world of Master, made up of colours, matter, sediments, ideas and dreams.