Ilaria Demonti
After her first failed attempt to run away from home when she was four years old, Ilaria gave up on the idea of traveling the world on her green bicycle and accepted getting on with the routine of nursery school. Nevertheless, she continued to fantasize about successful escapes and great adventures and, putting pen to paper, began writing and illustrating her stories.
She graduated in Italian Literature and Art History from the University of Pavia with a dissertation on Bruno Munari’s children’s books, and studied Illustration at the Academy of Fine Arts of Macerata, in the Ars in Fabula Master Program. Her first two books, Sur le Fil and Qui Se Cache Dans la Nuit? (Lirabelle, 2014), are silent books. Combining her interest in art history with that of illustration, she has published children’s books inspired by the works of great artists such as Walter Crane, Da Vinci, Monet, and Hokusai: Wendy and the Wallpaper Cat, by Jason Hook (V&A Publishing, 2014), The Workshop of Leonardo da Vinci (Skira, 2015), Piacere di conoscerti, monsieur Monet by Emanuela Di Lallo (Skira, 2015), and Il sogno di Hokusai (Skira, 2016).
Ilaria loves experimenting different techniques and learning new skills, but she can never resist inserting some form of collage into her illustrations.
She likes reading books, stalking her cat Zazie, drawing and climbing mountains.
