Ludwig Bemelmans was a prolific and imaginative illustrator, author, essayist, and painter, as well as a renowned restauranteur. His impressionistic illustrations for his "Madeline" books and his other writings for children were and still remain a major influence on children's book illustration.

Bemelmans was born in Meran in the Austrian Tyrol (now Merano, Italy) to Lambert Bemelmans, a Belgian painter, and Frances Fisher Bemelmans, the daughter of a wealthy brewery owner. His father was frequently absent, and Ludwig grew up under the care of his mother's family. His early life was spent in the family's Bavarian beer garden in Regensburg, where he had ample opportunity to observe the colorful clientele. These character studies from his impressionable years would be stored away in Bemelmans's memory and later used as humorous examples of human behavior in his books both for children and for adults.

While life in Regensburg was generally...