THE COMIC ART OF JOSEPH HÉMARD: French Literature
Hémard illustrated a great number of classics of French literature, including works such as Le Malade Imaginaire (1921), Gargantua et Pantagruel (1922), Jacques Le Fataliste (1922), Cyrano de Bergerac (1927) and Aucassin et Nicolette (1936), as well as more modern titles. Many of his illustrations are set in France’s past, from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century, and filled with scenes of courtiers, knights, soldiers, peasants, drunks, animals, and women in various stages of undress. The selection here is representative.
Honoré de Balzac, D’ung Paouvre qui avoit nom le Vieulx-par-Chemins. 1914. Pochoir. Collection of Farley P. Katz.
François Villon, Les Regrets de la Belle Heaulmiere. 1921. Collection of Farley P. Katz.
Anatole France, La Rôtisserie de la Reine Pédauque. 1923. Collection of Farley P. Katz.
Théophile Gautier, Le Capitaine Fracasse. 1926. Pochoir. Collection of Farley P. Katz.
Georges Courteline, Boubouroche Madelon Margot. 1927. Pochoir. Collection of Farley P. Katz.
“ ‘And then I drew for books’: The Comic Art of Joseph Hémard,” curated by Farley P. Katz and Mike Widener, is on display Sept. 15 - Dec. 15, 2012, in the Rare Book Exhibition Gallery, Level L2, Lillian Goldman Law Library, Yale Law School.
