Paul Cuvelier
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| Paul Cuvelier | |
| Born | November 22, 1923 Lens, Belgium |
| Died | July 5, 1978 (aged 54) Mont-sur-Marchienne |
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Notable works | Corentin Line Epoxy |
| Awards | full list |
Paul Cuvelier (November 22, 1923 - July 5, 1978) was a Belgian comics artist best known for the comic series Corentin.
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[edit] Biography
Paul Cuvelier was born in Lens, Belgium in 1923.[1] He was the third of seven children of doctor Charles Cuvelier, who was an amateur painter.[2] From his early youth on, his main passion was drawing, and he had his first work published in Le Petit Vingtième when he was only seven years old.[2] After studying Latin and Greek in Enghien,[2] he started with art classes at the academy of Mons for a few months, but left when his teacher declared that he had nothing more to learn.[2] He made his debut in the youth magazine Bravo in 1946 with the Western comic Tom Colby, based on a scenario by Hergé and Edgar Pierre Jacobs.[2] He was one of the first artists to be contacted by Hergé for the new magazine Tintin which started in 1946 with Hergé as editor-in-chief.
For Tintin, he created his main comics series, Corentin.[2] Trained as a painter, Cuvelier was recognized by his peers as one of the most talented artists, but his series only achieved limited success, and Cuvelier spent his whole career alternating between painting and comics. His main interest was the human body, but the catholic context and juvenile audience of Tintin restricted his possibilities. Corentin was his longest lasting series, but with only seven albums spanning 25 years it failed to attract a large and faithful audience, and his other series were even more shortlived.
Only in 1968 he was able to combine his passion for the female nude and his gift for drawing comics in Epoxy, a fantasy about the Greek gods written by Jean Van Hamme, which is considered as the first adult comic of Europe.[1]
Ultimately the lack of commercial success and the burden on his creativity of repeatedly drawing the same figures, inherent to the creation of comics, wore out Cuvelier, and from 1973 until his death 5 years later, he left the comics industry, only painting. He died in 1978 in Mont-sur-Marchienne.[1]
[edit] Bibliography
- Le Canyon mystérieux, 1 album, 1947, story by Hergé and Edgar Pierre Jacobs. Editions du Berger
- Corentin, 7 albums, 1950-1974, stories by Jean Van Melkebeke, Cuvelier, Greg, Acar, and Jean Van Hamme. Le Lombard and Dargaud
- Epoxy, 1 album, 1968, story by Jean Van Hamme. Losfeld
- Flamme d'argent, 3 albums, 1965-1981, story by Greg. Le Lombard, Dargaud, and Cygne
- Line, 5 albums, 1966-1985, story by Greg. Le Lombard, Dargaud, and Bédéscope
- Wapi, 2 albums, 1969-1981, story by Benoît and Acar. Le Lombard and Dargaud
[edit] Awards
- 1974: Award for best realistic artwork at the Prix Saint-Michel, Brussels
[edit] References
- Béra, Michel; Denni, Michel; and Mellot, Philippe (1998): "Trésors de la Bande Dessinée 1999-2000". Paris, Les éditions de l'amateur. ISBN 978-2-85917-258-9
- Paul Cuvelier publications in Belgian Tintin and French Tintin BDoubliées (French)
Footnotes
[edit] External links
- Paul Cuvelier biography on Lambiek Comiclopedia
- Paul Cuvelier biography on Le Lombard (French)
- Paul Cuvelier homage site (French)
