Ferenc Pinter, Original Illustration

Original illustration for Maigret. Mint.


Ferenc Pintér was born in Alassio, near Savona in 1932.
In 1940 his family moves to Budapest with the intent of treating his father Jószef’s tuberculosis, but the surgery doesn’t go as hoped so and after a few years Ferenc loses his father.
He’s able to come back to Italia after the rebellion in 1956 and the arrival of the Soviet tanks. As soon as he gets to Milano he obtains as a first job the realization of a giant mural (80 m²) for the “Radio Marelli”. For the following three years he keeps making advertisings for important Italian industry until 1960 which is the year that marks the start of the collaboration with “Arnoldo Mondadori Editore” that will last 32 years.
For this publishing house he makes covers and internal illustrations for books, but he’s remembered the most for the Commissario Maigret and Agatha Christie’s crime books. However his best works are the ones for “Oscar Mondadori”.
His favorite tools are acrylic colors that he use with extraordinary maestria to create surreal scenes characterized by a strong expressionist element.
Pintér is considered one of the most important European illustrators and it’s not a case that he’s in the international catalogs “Graphis” and “Gebrauchsgraphik”.
In 1989 he paints the 22 Trionfi of “Tarocchi dell’Immaginario” published by “Lo Scarabeo” located in Torino with the presentation of the art historian Federico Zeri.
Even though he is badly ill, Pintér keeps working until the 28th of February 2008, the date of his death.
The same year, in June, the drawing of his covers (alongside with the ones by Karel Thole and Carlo Jacono) are exposed in Lucca at the big exhibition Copertinando.
In October 2011 the publishing house Scarabeo publishes the drawings of an unreleased “Pinocchio” by Ferenc Pintér that worked on during his last years requested personally by Pietro Alligo.
Fifty pieces that are the masterpieces of the artist: fast and controlled acrylic colors, thick brushstrokes, great perspective knowledge. One of the most beautiful editions of the Collodi masterpiece.
He dies in Milan in February 2008.