Eiženija Heniša un bērnu grāmatu māksla Latvijā 20. gadsimta 50. un 60. gados

The contribution of the artist Eiženija Heniša (1922–1984) to Latvian children’s book art development in the 1950s and 1960s is exceptional. The artistic quality of her illustrations not only corresponds to the development trends in the period under review as a whole but also can be seen as a catalyst for growth. The purpose of this paper is to explore the contribution of Heniša’s art and highlight the synergies between fine art, graphic design, and narrative in Latvian children’s book art of this period. Already the earliest of the artist’s works demonstrated her artistic talent and high mastery of graphic techniques. Various dimensions and contrasts were applied. Images were created following a strong tradition of realism, highlighting the facial expressions, gestures, grimaces, and posture of subjects. These features became the qualities of Heniša’s artistic expression in the 1950s and 1960s. Children’s books due to Heniša’s artistic contribution become stylistically unified works of art, characterized by realistic drawing and stylistic contemporaneity; originality of created typography for covers, title pages, titles; emotional comfort created by the compositional harmony.