Born May 23, 1924, Warsaw – Died December 11, 2009
Polish animated film director, painter, graphic artist, and illustrator
Katarzyna Latałło was a multifaceted Polish artist and filmmaker whose career spanned animation, painting, printmaking, and book illustration. She graduated in 1952 from the Faculty of Painting and Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, earning her degree under Professor Jan Sokołowski.
She participated in numerous national and international exhibitions of graphic arts and drawing, including:
the National Fine Arts Exhibitions in 1952, 1953, and 1954,
the Arsenal Exhibition in Warsaw in 1955 (where she received an award),
the 1st National Exhibition of Artistic Graphics and Drawing (Warsaw, 1956),
the National Exhibition of Young Painting, Sculpture, and Graphics (Sopot, 1958),
the Exhibition of Graphic Art, Book Illustration, and Posters (Berlin–Hamburg–Cologne, 1956),
the 1st Polish Graphic Art Biennale (Kraków, 1960),
and the Book and Illustration Exhibition as part of The Polish Artistic Work in the 15th Anniversary of the Polish People’s Republic (Warsaw, 1962).
She served on the board of the Graphics Section of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers (ZPAP) in 1953–1955 and again in 1964–1965.
Beginning in 1961, she worked as a director and set designer with several major animation studios, including:
Se-ma-for,
the Studio of Animated Films in Bielsko-Biała,
the Studio of Miniature Films,
and the Educational Film Studio in Łódź.
She became a member of the Polish Filmmakers Association in 1956.
Her animated films received awards at both national and international festivals, including:
Kat i Katarzyna (Executioner and Katarzyna) – City of Łódź Award, 1965
Pan Plastyk – FIPRESCI Prize at the Mar del Plata Festival, 1965
and recognition for the film series The Adventures of Sinbad the Sailor (Łódź, 1970).
In addition to her film work, she illustrated several children’s books.
Latałło’s creative voice was shaped by the turbulent experience of her era—marked by war, reconstruction, and an ongoing search for meaning in a world full of contradictions.
At the core of her practice was painting: initially figurative, later evolving toward delicate abstraction. She often employed a restrained color palette, constructing compositions through tension between form and emptiness.
Her works were introspective, often melancholic, yet always profoundly humanistic. They reflect a quiet strength and sensitivity—eerily relevant today, while deeply rooted in their historical context.
