Lyuben Zidarov

Lyuben Hristov Zidarov (Bulgarian: Любен Христов Зидаров; 23 December 1923 – 3 January 2023) was a Bulgarian illustrator and painter.

Lyuben Zidarov
Любен Зидаров
Zidarov in 2010
Born	Lyuben Hristov Zidarov 23 December 1923 (1923-12-23) Veliko Tarnovo, Kingdom of Bulgaria
Died	3 January 2023 (2023-01-04) (aged 99) Bulgaria
Other names	Luben Zidarov
Occupation	Illustrator

Life and career

Born in Veliko Tarnovo, Zidarov got a passion for drawing since his school years, and in the late 1930s he created some of the first Bulgarian comic strips.^[1] He studied painting at the National Academy of Arts in Sofia, graduating in 1948.^[2] In 1950 he started his activity as an illustrator, collaborating with the children publications Septemvriiche and Slaveyche.^[1] He then specialized in illustrating books, including novels by Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jules Verne, Oscar Wilde, Alexandre Dumas and collections of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales.^[1][2]

During his career Zidarov illustrated over 200 books^[1] and was the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, notably the Golden Age Medal [bg] from the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, the Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius (first grade) and the title of People's Artist of Bulgary [bg].^[1][3] Among his last high-profile assignments were the cover art illustrations of the Bulgarian 20th Anniversary edition of the Harry Potter book series in 2019.^[2] He died on 3 January 2023, at the age of 99.^[2][3]