(b. May 6, 1910, Lviv – d. December 8, 1977, Warsaw)
Polish writer, author of novels, film scripts, and children’s books; visual artist, satirical cartoonist, and book illustrator; lecturer and rector of the Łódź Film School.
Mieczysław Piotrowski was an artist who didn’t merely narrate with images—he opened them up like dreams. His work defies strict definition: it resides somewhere between the real and the symbolic, between graphic art and painting, between structure and mood. His art exists in borderlands—where questions begin and illustrations end. His posters aren’t just advertisements—they’re portals into alternate realities.
He was born the eldest of three children to Tomasz Piotrowski, a postal clerk, and Maria née Niepołomska. He graduated from the Mikołaj Kopernik Municipal Gymnasium for Mathematics and Natural Sciences in Bydgoszcz. From 1928 to 1931, he studied at the Higher School of Journalism, although he left before earning his diploma. He then trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, studying painting under Felicjan Kowarski and graphic arts under Władysław Skoczylas. In 1935, he received a diploma from the ASP’s Pedagogical Department. He was commissioned as a reserve second lieutenant in the infantry corps, with seniority from January 1, 1937.
Piotrowski made his debut in 1926 with political-satirical drawings published in Dziennik Bydgoski and the socialist weekly Pobudka. He went on to work as an illustrator for a variety of satirical magazines, including Cyrulik Warszawski, Wróble na Dachu, Rózgi, Mucha, and Szpilki.
During World War II, he taught advertising techniques at a commercial high school in Siedlce. After the war, he continued contributing to Szpilki and also collaborated with literary magazines such as Kultura and Literatura. He made his debut as a novelist in 1956 with Ogrodnicy (“The Gardeners”).
Piotrowski’s visual language is saturated with dense, metaphorical atmosphere: faceless heads, objects entangled in their own meanings, silhouettes frozen in time. He worked with stark contrasts—softness meets horror, lyricism meets unease. His colors were rich but never cheerful—always tinged with shadow.
His posters resembled painterly compositions. They were rarely literal; instead, they invited interpretation, presenting puzzles for the eye and mind. He created posters for film, theater, public service, and exhibitions, but always followed a personal principle: “An image must have a soul.”
Piotrowski won numerous prestigious poster competitions both in Poland and abroad, including in Japan, Belgium, and Mexico. His works are held in museum and private collections worldwide.
I Won’t Change You, Sir, Czytelnik, 1985
Ballad of a Dentist (1966)
Gray Ear. Is This a Picture Story? (children’s comic, written and illustrated by Piotrowski, KAW 1976; reissued by Wydawnictwo Wolno, 2018)
Mushrooms Galloping on Horses (children’s comic, written and illustrated by Piotrowski, KAW 1977)
1950 – Third-Degree State Art Award for political caricature
1956 – Prime Minister’s Award for children’s book illustration
1959 – Silver Medal at the Internationale Buchkunst-Ausstellung, Leipzig
1962 – First-Degree State Award for book illustration
1966 – Golden Pin (Złota Szpilka) award
1968 – Golden Pin (Złota Szpilka) award
1977 – Golden Pin with Laurel (Złota Szpilka z Wawrzynem)
