BAR2 - Lot 20

BAR2 JOE BAR TEAM Vents d'Ouest René Lagauffre, 1000 Laverda in 1973. Original illustration for a diary after the release of the first album. Signed. India ink and colored inks on paper 14.4 × 8.8 cm (5.67 × 3.46 in.) This drawing - like those in lots 22, 24, 26 and 28 - was produced to illustrate the Joe Bar Team Agenda, released in 1991. "Since my comic strip had only five main characters, I had to invent new ones to illustrate the many pages of this diary. And they had to ride motorcycles different from those in Joe Bar Team. To do this, I chose to draw the most striking machines of the time. And machines of all styles, in order to present a sort of panorama of motorcycle production and of the different biker families you could come across in those years. And it went without saying that, in their physiognomy, attitude and attire, these bikers had to match the style of the machine they were riding. In the drawing shown here, the motorcycle is a 1000 Laverda: a sporty machine with an imposing stature, a powerful engine and an aggressive look. And its rider, to match it, had to evoke a quiet, if menacing, force on the move. That's why I endowed this René Lagauffre with an athletic physique and a look that speaks volumes about his fighting spirit and his certainty that he could easily dominate his rivals. And now that I've rediscovered this drawing, I dare confess that I really appreciate the caricature of this machine, the posture and the look of the proud-armed man who rides it, and the inking of the whole."