ROSINSKI - Lot 97

ROSINSKI GRZEGORZ ROSINSKI THORGAL Les Trois Vieillards du pays d'Aran (T.3), Le Lombard 1981 Original plate no. 13, prepublished in Le Journal de Tintin no. 201, July 17, 1979. India ink on paper 36 × 47 cm (14.17 × 18.5 in.) Barely married, but already in exile, Aaricia and Thorgal find themselves trapped by a gnome disguised as a jester, inviting them to take part in an archery contest that will enable them to rule the land of Aran. Aaricia obviously falls into the trap, while Thorgal is pushed aside and separated from her. In this magnificent, almost wordless sequence, he comes to free her. We see the gnome behind their misfortune making his way to Aaricia's gaol by night, only to be followed by Thorgal, who takes advantage of the opportunity to free his beloved. Grzegorz Rosinski handles this mundane scene masterfully: a shot of the gnome crossing the castle; a wide overhead shot showing him advancing on the watchtower, with an imperceptible patch of shadow behind him; in the next frame, the shadow widens and finally assaults the gnome. At last, Thorgal appears in his virile beauty. On the floor, the torch still lit provides light. Then our hero enters Aaricia's room, with the inevitable cliffhanger at the end of the page: why is Aaricia screaming? Rosinski and Van Hamme, whose Thorgal is their first real success, are on their way to glory.