GEORGES REMI DIT HERGÉ (1907-1983)

GEORGES REMI DIT HERGÉ (1907-1983) Bust illustration of Tintin and Snowy for the cover of coloring book no. 5 (Éditions Casterman, 1963). India ink and gouache on drawing paper. Framed under glass with a copy of the album. Paper dimensions : H 39 x W 31.2 cm Drawing dimensions : H 33.8 x W 25.9 cm Total dimensions with frame : H 51 x W 64.5 cm Status : Certificate of authenticity from the Comité d'authentification des oeuvres d'Hergé, January 12, 2021 There are only six large-format covers for the coloring books, all created by Hergé between 1957 and 1963. Conceived and realized by Hergé in early 1957, the first two illustrations in these Casterman coloring books are fairly classical, with Tintin and a series of characters around him, while the following covers are all imbued with what was true modernism at the time, in the early 1960s, with a very thick line that undoubtedly recalls the large illuminated sign that had been installed on the roof of the Éditions du Lombard building in 1958. The cover of coloring book no. 2 sold for 108,000 euros in Brussels a few years ago. A symbol of modernity, these two heads of Tintin and Snowy were, from the late 1950s onwards, the graphic acronym that illustrated all the covers of the Tintin newspaper, to the left of the title of the weekly itself. These thickly drawn heads of Tintin and Snowy were even better known to collectors, as the illuminated "Tintin and Snowy" sign was inaugurated with great pomp by the Belgian Prime Minister of the time, Paul-Henri Spaak, an unquestionable token of celebrity. For this major graphic achievement, Hergé took up the theme of the famous 1962 "trompe l'oeil" greetings card: above the heads of Tintin and Snowy, very "Pop Art" in style, are the main tools often used by artists: brushes, pencil, eraser, watercolors and a tube of oil paint. Produced in an exceptionally large format, this cover was published in 1963 and measures 39 cm x 31.5 cm. Its place of honor in a fine collection of modern originals will be further enhanced by the visual immediacy of this large portrait of Tintin and Snowy.