ROCHETTE

JEAN-MARC ROCHETTE LA DERNIÈRE REINE, Casterman 2022 Original plate no. 163 accompanied by preparatory stage in India ink and wash on paper. Signed. India ink and graphite on paper 29.5 ×41.8 cm (11.61 ×16.46 in.) Preparatory stage: 29.6 × 40.2 cm Last walk in the mountains. On her return to Paris, Jeanne contracts tuberculosis. At the end of her rope, she has to stop climbing. Here again, the drawing is eloquent enough. Note that the two close-ups that open the plate are two fractions of the following wide shot. The last panel is a magnificent view of the Vercors, with the Grand Veymont and Mont Aiguille. The reader knows from the start that the story is not going to end well! Edouard and Jeanne's postures foreshadow death: she lies lifeless, and he is already at her bedside. Both are motionless, mute, two small figures overwhelmed, crushed, absorbed by the surrounding mountain. The scene is imbued with great gentleness. J.-M.R.