FRANQUIN - Lot 47

FRANQUIN ANDRÉ FRANQUIN Set of two original pencil sketches. The elephant sketch is a research for the the cover of Spirou no. 1721, April 8, 1971 and the characters in the second sketch belong to Gaston's universe, and can be found on plates 787 and 799 of the gag from La Morue aux fraises gag. Graphite on paper Drawing no. 1: 14.3 × 12 cm (5.63 × 4.72 in.) Drawing no. 2: 9 × 10.5 cm (3.54 × 4.13 in.). Franquin was a first-rate animal artist. You could ask him for a drawing of any animal you wanted, and he'd just draw it for you, in style. No wonder his most famous animal, the Marsupilami, looks so alive! This study shows just how difficult it was for Franquin to draw the elephant's tusks in the most accurate perspective possible. He had the opportunity to take sketches of the elephant at the Musée du Congo (as it was then called) in Tervuren. He reused them in Tembo Tabou. It's striking that he extends this concern for accuracy to the drawing of secondary characters. After several attempts, he chose the least clichéd, most authentic character. What genius!