About the artist:

Franz Wacik (born September 9, 1883 in Vienna, † September 15, 1938) was an Austrian painter and graphic artist. Franz Wacik was at the beginning of his artistic career, first student at the painting school Strehblow, later he studied at the School of Applied Arts Vienna with Alfred Roller. From 1902 to 1908 he studied painting with Christian Griepenkerl, Franz Rumpler and Heinrich Lefler at the Vienna Art Academy. In particular, Wacik devoted himself to book illustration, mainly in the children's and youth books. He illustrated mostly in color works by Hans Christian Andersen, fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, tales by E.T.A. Hoffmann, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Clemens Brentano, also the folk book by Till Eulenspiegel u. v. a. For the book series Österreichs Ruhmeshalle he took over the volumes to Franz Schubert and Franz Grillparzer, for the weekly magazine The Muskete he made hundreds of color illustrations, also to the journal Jugendrotkreuz he contributed. Particularly outstanding are his works for the ambitious series Gerlach's Jugendbücherei, z. Again with Andersen's fairy tales and illustrations to Bürgers Münchhausen.