Ali Mitgutsch
Alfons "Ali" Mitgutsch (21 August 1935 – 10 January 2022) was a German author of picture books and a professional advertising Illustrator. He was known as the father of the Wimmelbilder books.
Also recorded as Alfons Mitgutsch
Ali Mitgutsch

Harvey Kneeslapper · CC0
- Name
- Ali Mitgutsch
- Birth Name
- Alfons Mitgutsch
- Born
- 21 August 1935
- Birthplace
- Munich, Bavaria, Germany
- Died
- 10 January 2022
- Place of death
- Munich, Germany
- Occupation
- Author, illustrator
- Awards
- * Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (1969)
- Nationality
- Germany
- Fields
- illustration · visual arts · graphics
- Education
- Munich University of Applied Sciences
- Honours
- Ernst Hoferichter Prize · Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany · Schwabing Art Prize
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Alfons "Ali" Mitgutsch (21 August 1935 – 10 January 2022) was a German author of picture books and a professional advertising Illustrator. He was known as the father of the Wimmelbilder books.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Ali Mitgutsch (1935–2022) was a German children's writer, graphic artist and illustrator, among other activities. The children's writer was born and died in Munich.
Ali Mitgutsch studied at Munich University of Applied Sciences. The children's writer worked in Munich. Ali Mitgutsch was active in graphics, illustration and visual arts.
Languages used include German. The children's writer received Ernst Hoferichter Prize and Schwabing Art Prize.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Ali Mitgutsch. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q1528710 · wikipedia · Ali Mitgutsch
In this article
Biography
Biography
Ali Mitgutsch studied at Munich University of Applied Sciences. The recorded working language is German. The field of work recorded is illustration, visual arts and graphics. Places of work recorded in the authority are Munich. Distinctions recorded are Ernst Hoferichter Prize, Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and Schwabing Art Prize.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Ali Mitgutsch • Birth Name — Alfons Mitgutsch • Born — 21 August 1935 • Birthplace — Munich, Bavaria, Germany • Died — 10 January 2022 • Place of death — Munich, Germany • Death Cause — Complications of pneumonia • Occupation — Author, illustrator • Genre — Wimmelbild picture books • Notable Works — Rundherum in meiner Stadt (1968) • Awards — * Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (1969) • Hans Christian Andersen Award (1978) • Verdienstkreuz am Bande (2018)
Life and career
Life and career
Mitgutsch was born in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, on 21 August 1935. As a child, the Mitgutsch family was evacuated to Allgäu in World War II due to bombing in Munich. After returning to Munich, he trained at the Graphical Academy as a lithographer. In the 1960s, Kurt Seelmann, a child psychologist, inspired him to create a special kind of picture book for children. Mitgutsch became famous for his Wimmelbilder-books. These books show everyday scenes in a single painting across the pages on top. Rundherum in meiner Stadt (Around in my city), released in 1968, is the first book in the series. Mitgutsch lived in Munich, the city inspired his paintings. He died in Munich from complications of pneumonia on 10 January 2022, at the age of 86.
Publications
Publications
*
Picture books
Picture books
• Pepes Hut (1959) • Ulus abenteuerliche Reise (1960 im Münchener Bilderbuch Verlag) • Nico findet einen Schatz (1961) • Rundherum in meiner Stadt (1968 Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis) • Bei uns im Dorf (1970) (In our Village) • Komm mit ans Wasser (1971) • Auf dem Lande • Rund ums Rad (1975) • Rund ums Schiff (1977) • Hier in den Bergen (1979) • Was wimmelt denn da (What's teeming here) • Die Hexe und die sieben Fexe • Unsere große Stadt (1988) • Ritterbuch (Knightsbook) • Engel in der Werkstatt • Aufbruch der Weihnachtsmänner • Mein schönstes Wimmelbilderbuch • Das große Piraten-Wimmelbuch • Alle spielen mit • Mein riesengroßes Piraten-Wimmelbuch • Mein riesengroßes Wimmel-Suchbuch (2010) • Fizzel baut eine Burg (Fizzel is building a castle), Otto Maier, Ravensburg,1992, Reihe Kleine Ravensburger • Vom Korn zum Brot (From grain to bread)
Awards
• 1960 nominated for Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis for Pepes Hut • 1961 nominated for Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis for Ulus abenteuerliche Reise zum Nordlicht • 1962 nominated for Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis for Nico findet einen Schatz • 1969 Deutscher Jugendbuchpreis for the picture book Rundherum in meiner Stadt • 1971 nominated for Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis for Bei uns im Dorf • 1972 nominated for Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis for Komm mit ans Wasser • 1978 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Rund ums Schiff (Around the ship) • 2003 Schwabing Art Award • 2016 Ernst-Hoferichter-Preis • 2018 Verdienstkreuz am Bande der Bundesrepublik Deutschland for a new Genre • 2019 Oberbayerischer Kulturpreis
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.(German) Boris Berg: Der Vater der Wimmelbücher – Zum 80. Geburtstag von Ali Mitgutsch, Bayerischer Rundfunk vom 21. August 2015 (archive.org) (YouTube)
- 2.(German) Wimmelbild-Erfinder Ali Mitgutsch: Da kommt er, der Träumer!, spiegel.de, 13 August 2015
- 3.(German) Magnus Klaue, Zur Renaissance der Wimmelbücher, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung No. 65, 18.
- 4.Schuetze, Christopher F. Ali Mitgutsch, Inventive Children's Book Illustrator, Dies at 86. The New York Times. 2022-01-18. 0362-4331.
- 5.Linnartz, Mareen. Ali Mitgutsch: Der Kinderbuchautor ist mit 86 Jahren gestorben. Süddeutsche.de. 11 January 2022.
- 6.Ali Mitgutsch | Rossipotti Literaturlexikon. www.rossipotti.de.
- 7.Landeshauptstadt München - Ernst-Hoferichter-Preis 2016 an Ali Mitgutsch.
- 8.Wimmelbuch-Autor: Orden für Ali Mitgutsch, Neue Presse vom 11 October 2018, p. 17
- 9.Oberbayern, Bezirk. Oberbayerischer Kulturpreis. Bezirk Oberbayern.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 3
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Illustration
5,224 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Alfred SeifertIllustrator
- Alfred WainwrightIllustrator
- Alfreda BengeIllustrator
- Alfredo Edel ColornoIllustrator
- Alice Beach WinterIllustrator
- Alice Bolam PrestonIllustrator
- Alice HalickaIllustrator
- Alice HaversIllustrator
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Ali Mitgutsch?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.