Will - Lot 52

Will WILL ISABELLE L'Envoûtement du Népenthès (T.7), Dupuis 1986 Original plate no. 20, prepublished in Le Journal de Spirou n° 2478 of October 8, 1985. Signed. India ink and blue wash on paper 35.5 × 47.9 cm (13.98 × 18.86 in.) It's rare to find, as here, an entire album in which the narrative concedes above all to aesthetic intent. Such is the case for the dreamlike "blue country" of L'Envoûtement du Népenthès, to which Isabelle and Calendula must travel. The country in question is Holland, or rather its representation, since the town of Delft built its reputation in the 16th century on porcelains whose process had been imitated from the white earthenware with blue designs brought back from China by the Dutch East India Company. In the 16th century, a break in relations with the Middle Kingdom led to local production with typically Dutch motifs, genre scenes and fashionable seascapes. On the back of the document, in addition to the "patches" justified by the author's repentance, a stamp recommended by the UPCHIC (Union professionnelle des créateurs d'histoires en images et de cartoons), founded by Belgian authors in 1986 and whose activity ceased in 1997, signaled to publishers and their service providers that the originals belonged to the authors.