Ylla
Encyclopedia
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of Camilla Koffler (16 August 1911–30 March 1955), a Hungarian photographer who specialized in animal photography. At the time of her death she "was generally considered the most proficient animal photographer in the world."
Biography
Koffler was born in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, to a Romanian father and Serb mother, both Hungarian nationals. At age eight, she was placed in a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
boarding school in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. In 1925, the teenage Koffler joined her mother in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, where she studied sculpture with Italian sculptor Petar Palavacini at the Academy of Fine Arts; discovering that her given name Camilla stood for "camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
" in Serb, she changed it to "Ylla."
In 1929, Ylla received a commission for a bas-relief sculpture for a Belgrade movie theater. By 1931, she had moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where she studied sculpture at the Académie Colarossi
Académie Colarossi
The Académie Colarossi is an art school founded by the Italian sculptor Filippo Colarossi. First located on the Île de la Cité, it moved in the 1870s to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, France....
and worked as photo retoucher and assistant to photographer Ergy Landau.
In 1932, Ylla began photographing animals, exhibited her work at Galerie de La Pléiade, and opened a studio to photograph pets. In 1933, she was introduced to Charles Rado of the Rapho
Rapho (agency)
The Rapho agency was founded in Paris in 1933 by Charles Rado , a Hungarian immigrant. Rapho, an acronym formed from Rado-Photo, is one of the oldest press agencies specializing in humanist photography...
Guillumette agency.
In 1940, New York's Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
submitted her name to the U.S. Department of State requesting an entry visa; she immigrated to the United States in 1941.
In 1952, Ylla traveled to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and in 1954 she visited India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
for the first time.
In 1955, Ylla was fatally injured after falling from a jeep while photographing a bullock cart
Bullock cart
A bullock cart or ox cart is a two-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen . It is a means of transportation used since ancient times in many parts of the world. They are still used today where modern vehicles are too expensive or the infrastructure does not favor them.Used especially for carrying goods,...
race during festivities in Bharatpur
Bharatpur, India
Bharatpur is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1733. Located in the Brij region, Bharatpur was once an impregnable, well-planned and well-fortified city, and the capital of Jat kingdom ruled by Sinsinwar Maharajas.The trio of Bharatpur, Deeg and...
, North India.
Quotes and posthumous tributes
Julian HuxleyJulian Huxley
Sir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS was an English evolutionary biologist, humanist and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century evolutionary synthesis...
:
Charles Rado:
Selected bibliography
- 1937 Chiens par Ylla/Ylla's Dog Fancies, Jules SupervielleJules SupervielleJules Supervielle was a French poet and writer born in Uruguay.Jules Supervielle always kept away from Surrealism which was dominant in the first half of the twentieth century...
(Paris: Editions OET/London: Methuen Publishers) - 1937 Chats par Ylla, Paul Léautaud (Paris: Editions OET)
- 1938 Animal Language, Julian HuxleyJulian HuxleySir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS was an English evolutionary biologist, humanist and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century evolutionary synthesis...
(includes recordings of animal calls) (London: Country Life Press; New York: Grosset & Dunlop; 2nd ed. 1964) - 1944 They All Saw It, Margaret Wise BrownMargaret Wise BrownMargaret Wise Brown was a prolific American author of children's literature, including the books Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny, both illustrated by Clement Hurd.-Biography:...
(New York: Harper & Brothers) - 1947 The Sleepy Little Lion, Margaret Wise BrownMargaret Wise BrownMargaret Wise Brown was a prolific American author of children's literature, including the books Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny, both illustrated by Clement Hurd.-Biography:...
(New York: Harper & Brothers) - 1947 Le Petit Lion, Jacques PrévertJacques PrévertJacques Prévert was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain very popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. Some of the movies he wrote are extremely well regarded, with Les Enfants du Paradis considered one of the greatest films of all time.-Life and...
(Paris: Arts et Métiers Graphiques) - 1950 Tico-Tico, Niccolo TucciNiccolò TucciNiccolò Tucci was a short story writer and novelist who wrote in English and Italian.Born in Lugano, Switzerland of a Russian mother and an Italian father who became a Swiss citizen, Niccolò Tucci grew up in privileged circumstances that were eliminated by the Bolshevik Revolution. His family...
(New York: Harper & Brothers); 1952: Georges Ribemont-DessaignesGeorges Ribemont-DessaignesGeorges Ribemont-Dessaignes was a French writer and artist associated with the Dada movement. He was born in Montpellier....
(Paris: Libraire Gallimard) - 1950 O Said the Squirrel, Margaret Wise BrownMargaret Wise BrownMargaret Wise Brown was a prolific American author of children's literature, including the books Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny, both illustrated by Clement Hurd.-Biography:...
(London: Harvill Press) - 1950 Des Bêtes..., Jacques PrévertJacques PrévertJacques Prévert was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain very popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. Some of the movies he wrote are extremely well regarded, with Les Enfants du Paradis considered one of the greatest films of all time.-Life and...
(Lausanne: Edition Jean Marguerat; Paris: Libraire Gallimard) - 1950 Animals, Julian HuxleyJulian HuxleySir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS was an English evolutionary biologist, humanist and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century evolutionary synthesis...
(New York: Hastings House; London: Harvill Press) - 1952 The Duck, Margaret Wise BrownMargaret Wise BrownMargaret Wise Brown was a prolific American author of children's literature, including the books Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny, both illustrated by Clement Hurd.-Biography:...
(New York: Harper & Brothers; London: Harvill Press) - 1953 Animals in Africa, L.S.B. Leakey (New York: Harper & Brothers; London: Harvill Press; Paris: Delpire/Revue Neuf; Hamburg: Christian Wegner)
- 1956 Twee kleine beertjes = Deux petits ours, Paulette Falconnet (Brussel ; Amsterdam : Elsevier)
- 1958 Animals in India (Lausanne: La Guilde du Livre/Clairefontaine; New York: Harper & Brothers)