"Keep your eyes open! Ali Mitgutsch and the busy pictures"

Ali Mitgutsch is regarded as the father of the ‘wimmelbuch’ (picture book full of hidden details). ‘Rundherum in meiner Stadt’ (All Around My Town), published in 1968, is his first ‘wimmelbuch’ and a classic of children’s literature. With his colourful illustrations, Ali Mitgutsch tells stories of everyday life in the city and the countryside, in the mountains and by the water, in a gestural, playful and witty style. Without words, he brings stories to life on the page that children and adults alike enjoy. There’s often a touch of schadenfreude when he captures minor mishaps in his pictures: there’s the girl being lifted into the air by balloons, the man sticking his bottom out too far, the woman whose hat is blown off her head, or the boy who gets splashed. In his pictures, Mitgutsch unfolds a miniature world in which people laugh, shout, marvel and cry. Everything is in motion in his work; hardly anyone stands still. Children fall over, slip, run, jump and dance. Anyone who looks at Ali Mitgutsch’s ‘hidden object’ pictures becomes part of a large community.

His ‘hidden object’ books have made Ali Mitgutsch famous, but his body of work is far more extensive. He has created more than 70 picture books: ‘hidden object’ books, non-fiction picture books, fairy tales and his own stories. In addition, there are objects and independent works. The exhibition aims to celebrate the breadth and diversity of his work.

Last edited on 25.08.2026