Martin Benka

Martin Benka (21 September 1888 in Kostolište – 28 June 1971 in Malacky) was a Slovakian painter, illustrator, art teacher and Esperantist.

A journalist named Jan Josef Langner (1861-1919) saw his work and was sufficiently impressed to offer financial assistance.

[3] Benka's ornamental style, which was influenced by folk art, contrasted sharply with the functional and purist approach of the German Bauhaus and Russian avant-garde movements of that time.

Along with Ľudovít Fulla, Mikuláš Galanda, and the Czech Jaroslav Vodrážka [cs], he created Modernist Slovak typography.

While searching for characteristic features, forms and colors of Slovakia, he would visit regions where people lived simply, in communion with nature.