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Natures Mortes
Barcelone, 1899. Tous deux peintres, Joaquín Mir et son ami Vidal Balaguer fréquentent le fameux cabaret-galerie Els Quatre Gats. Quoique criblé de dettes, Balaguer refuse de vendre le portrait qu'il a fait de Mar, son amour, disparue quelques mois plus tôt sans laisser la moindre trace... Son comportement éveille les soupçons d'un inspecteur de police, d'autant plus que le corps d'une défunte dont Balaguer avait fait le portrait s'est aussi volatilisé...
64 pages, Paperback
First published March 17, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
October 24, 2024
Los fantasmas solo tienen nombre para quienes los han llorado…
Sob a égide do modernismo catalão, onde não falta sequer a Sagrada Família (sempre) em construção, Zidrou e Oriol recriam a vida de um pintor que nunca existiu mas que poderia ter sem dúvida existido na gótica cidade de Barcelona, no dealbar do século XX, o ambiente perfeito para um acto de desaparecimento digno do melhor passe de magia.
Vidal Balaguer é o típico pintor sem sorte. Cheio de dívidas, com um agiota à perna, um canário chamado Stradivarius que não canta, trabalha por encomenda para sobreviver, mas até a fruta das suas naturezas mortas lhe desaparece. Quando também isso acontece à sua musa, Mar, entra em desespero e torna-se suspeito de homicídio, levando o pintor a pensar se o que tem é um dom ou uma maldição.
- Las modelos rara vez lo son. “Modelos” quiero decir.
- Mar hacía honor a su nombre. Ia y venía, como el mar… Pero conmigo era distinto. Yo era… su playa, en cierto sentido. Y la playa nunca le pregunta al mar dónde há pasado la noche!
Envolto nesta aura de mistério e ilustrado com cores garridas onde se destaca o azul-eléctrico, a dupla criativa fez também um excelente trabalho a fabricar a ilusão da existência desta personagem como pessoa de carne e osso.
Sob a égide do modernismo catalão, onde não falta sequer a Sagrada Família (sempre) em construção, Zidrou e Oriol recriam a vida de um pintor que nunca existiu mas que poderia ter sem dúvida existido na gótica cidade de Barcelona, no dealbar do século XX, o ambiente perfeito para um acto de desaparecimento digno do melhor passe de magia.
Vidal Balaguer é o típico pintor sem sorte. Cheio de dívidas, com um agiota à perna, um canário chamado Stradivarius que não canta, trabalha por encomenda para sobreviver, mas até a fruta das suas naturezas mortas lhe desaparece. Quando também isso acontece à sua musa, Mar, entra em desespero e torna-se suspeito de homicídio, levando o pintor a pensar se o que tem é um dom ou uma maldição.
- Las modelos rara vez lo son. “Modelos” quiero decir.
- Mar hacía honor a su nombre. Ia y venía, como el mar… Pero conmigo era distinto. Yo era… su playa, en cierto sentido. Y la playa nunca le pregunta al mar dónde há pasado la noche!
Envolto nesta aura de mistério e ilustrado com cores garridas onde se destaca o azul-eléctrico, a dupla criativa fez também um excelente trabalho a fabricar a ilusão da existência desta personagem como pessoa de carne e osso.
March 29, 2020
“You should stop reading those Russian authors. Their idea of romance is a bit too desperate for my taste”—Vidal Balaguer, to his model Mar Noguera, who is reading Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment as she is painted.
I just happen to be reading Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov which, like Crime and Punishment, features a desperate romance. And also a murder. Odd coincidence, to take a break from Brothers to randomly pick this up. A book in part inspired by Dostoevsky!)
(But are there really any literary coincidences? Is it not fate, Madame? And please don’t move. The light is just right now. Ah, here, this shawl is a perfect complement to your ivory skin, red, perfect, a Manton, so lovely, so delicate and bold at the same time!)
Vidal Balaguer was a Catalan painter from the late nineteenth century, who disappeared and apparently destroyed most of his art before leaving. Once viewed in school as the Catalan Carravaggio, these are the remaining paintings, which I found on a Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/OriolWork...
The Muse is a lovely, 48-page work of art in itself by Zidrou and Oriol, a graphic novel, that imagines a fantastical series of events to help explain the mystery. It’s a story within a story, the tale told by an older, struggling painter to his young model one afternoon about a struggling painter he had once known, Balaguer, who once had fallen in love with his “muse,” (or is it femme fatale?), Mar, the woman depicted in the painting on the cover of this book (yes, the actual painter Balaguer actually painted that portrait of Mar!). He’s (of course) fallen in love with her, but in the night he finishes her painting, she disappears. For days he wanders the streets looking for her. He’s broke, but he won’t sell this painting to a man who expresses interest in it. Where is she?
The man, a detective, visits; Mar’s disappeared, Balaguer’s the last to have seen her, he’s a suspect. Oh, and a detective also met with Raskolnikov, about a murdered woman. . . but what does our story have to do with that?
Here is what it feels fro me to be reading Dostoevsky while I wqtch Mar read Dostoevsky, while a struggling painter tells a story within a story about a struggling painter (Orson Welles, the "Hall of Mirrors"scene In other words, what is reality? It's mirrors all the way down!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iQSr...
(You’re not too cold? I can turn up the heat. You want a sip of wine? Will the Muscatel do? Perhaps a bit to eat? An orange? Of course, very nice choice. But yes, yes, let’s take a short break and sit together by the window as the late afternoon light filters in.)
What does Mar’s disappearance have to do with a painting Balaguer made of a corpse, and the subsequent disappearance of said corpse? Or the fact that Mar was a model—and more, for money—for a host of other men/artists? And what about the missing oranges and Muscatel from that work on the still life Balaguer completed?
One day, a little girl, named herself after a Greek muse, Melpomene, observes Balaguer painting a landscape with a tree in the center. She comments on his art and helps him realize his “perfect definition of painting: Reality, with a little extra,” which we might say is also the perfect definition of art for Dostoevsky, Zidrou/Oriol, and me! (You sense you are in that mirror scene again?! Exactly! What is going on here? Who is writing this review? Who is telling this story of a story within a story? Who am I?!)
(Yes, relax, only a few strokes left, breathe, the world is a delight, just a few more minutes. . .)
In gratitude, Balaguer gives his painting of the landscape tree to his young muse and. . . as we look at the actual scene to compare it to the painting. . . the tree disappears!
So, mystery lover, Monsieur Poirot, let’s see what we have: Balaguer paints a corpse and it disappears. He paints Mar and she disappears. A tree . . . disappears! He looks at his parakeet and realizes that since everything he paints is set free, he’ll do the parakeet a favor and paint it (I know, he could just open the cage, but. . . ).
Another way to think of this mystery is of the paintbrush as murder weapon, which is what is the detective’s theory! And was it yours?! Herzog, who lent him money, comes one last time to collect and Balaguer has an idea, to offer to paint his portrait. Hey, a way to solve his money troubles in a way Herzog might not suspect. . . And would never, ever know. . .) but there’s a twist in the ending, in this lovely noir romantic fantasy. Because as we know from his actual, real world (what can that possibly mean?!) biography, it is Balaguer who actually disappears! Guess how!
(Just the finishing touches, my dear, be patient, and then I have to get back to my reading of The Brothers of Karamazov. Here, let me clean my brushes as I turn to show it to . . .
I just happen to be reading Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov which, like Crime and Punishment, features a desperate romance. And also a murder. Odd coincidence, to take a break from Brothers to randomly pick this up. A book in part inspired by Dostoevsky!)
(But are there really any literary coincidences? Is it not fate, Madame? And please don’t move. The light is just right now. Ah, here, this shawl is a perfect complement to your ivory skin, red, perfect, a Manton, so lovely, so delicate and bold at the same time!)
Vidal Balaguer was a Catalan painter from the late nineteenth century, who disappeared and apparently destroyed most of his art before leaving. Once viewed in school as the Catalan Carravaggio, these are the remaining paintings, which I found on a Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/OriolWork...
The Muse is a lovely, 48-page work of art in itself by Zidrou and Oriol, a graphic novel, that imagines a fantastical series of events to help explain the mystery. It’s a story within a story, the tale told by an older, struggling painter to his young model one afternoon about a struggling painter he had once known, Balaguer, who once had fallen in love with his “muse,” (or is it femme fatale?), Mar, the woman depicted in the painting on the cover of this book (yes, the actual painter Balaguer actually painted that portrait of Mar!). He’s (of course) fallen in love with her, but in the night he finishes her painting, she disappears. For days he wanders the streets looking for her. He’s broke, but he won’t sell this painting to a man who expresses interest in it. Where is she?
The man, a detective, visits; Mar’s disappeared, Balaguer’s the last to have seen her, he’s a suspect. Oh, and a detective also met with Raskolnikov, about a murdered woman. . . but what does our story have to do with that?
Here is what it feels fro me to be reading Dostoevsky while I wqtch Mar read Dostoevsky, while a struggling painter tells a story within a story about a struggling painter (Orson Welles, the "Hall of Mirrors"scene In other words, what is reality? It's mirrors all the way down!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iQSr...
(You’re not too cold? I can turn up the heat. You want a sip of wine? Will the Muscatel do? Perhaps a bit to eat? An orange? Of course, very nice choice. But yes, yes, let’s take a short break and sit together by the window as the late afternoon light filters in.)
What does Mar’s disappearance have to do with a painting Balaguer made of a corpse, and the subsequent disappearance of said corpse? Or the fact that Mar was a model—and more, for money—for a host of other men/artists? And what about the missing oranges and Muscatel from that work on the still life Balaguer completed?
One day, a little girl, named herself after a Greek muse, Melpomene, observes Balaguer painting a landscape with a tree in the center. She comments on his art and helps him realize his “perfect definition of painting: Reality, with a little extra,” which we might say is also the perfect definition of art for Dostoevsky, Zidrou/Oriol, and me! (You sense you are in that mirror scene again?! Exactly! What is going on here? Who is writing this review? Who is telling this story of a story within a story? Who am I?!)
(Yes, relax, only a few strokes left, breathe, the world is a delight, just a few more minutes. . .)
In gratitude, Balaguer gives his painting of the landscape tree to his young muse and. . . as we look at the actual scene to compare it to the painting. . . the tree disappears!
So, mystery lover, Monsieur Poirot, let’s see what we have: Balaguer paints a corpse and it disappears. He paints Mar and she disappears. A tree . . . disappears! He looks at his parakeet and realizes that since everything he paints is set free, he’ll do the parakeet a favor and paint it (I know, he could just open the cage, but. . . ).
Another way to think of this mystery is of the paintbrush as murder weapon, which is what is the detective’s theory! And was it yours?! Herzog, who lent him money, comes one last time to collect and Balaguer has an idea, to offer to paint his portrait. Hey, a way to solve his money troubles in a way Herzog might not suspect. . . And would never, ever know. . .) but there’s a twist in the ending, in this lovely noir romantic fantasy. Because as we know from his actual, real world (what can that possibly mean?!) biography, it is Balaguer who actually disappears! Guess how!
(Just the finishing touches, my dear, be patient, and then I have to get back to my reading of The Brothers of Karamazov. Here, let me clean my brushes as I turn to show it to . . .
November 1, 2024
This book was a fascinating read.
The mystery surrounding Vidal Balaguer intrigued me so much that I immediately started researching him after finishing the book. With so little information available about him, I began to wonder if his existence was real or a fabrication, similar to the concept in The Blair Witch Project. However, the authors confirm that Balaguer did exist, and there's an excellent dossier at the end of the book detailing his life.
In essence, the authors take this enigmatic figure and the legends around him, weaving a story tinged with the paranormal to explore the truth behind the myth.
Oriol's stunning artwork elevates the entire experience. Reading this book feels like gazing at a series of beautifully crafted paintings.
The only downside is that the book feels too short, but it’s better to leave readers wanting more than to stretch the story unnecessarily.
All in all, it's a captivating read. I also love the texture of the cover and the beautiful edition by Arte de Autor and A Seita.
The mystery surrounding Vidal Balaguer intrigued me so much that I immediately started researching him after finishing the book. With so little information available about him, I began to wonder if his existence was real or a fabrication, similar to the concept in The Blair Witch Project. However, the authors confirm that Balaguer did exist, and there's an excellent dossier at the end of the book detailing his life.
In essence, the authors take this enigmatic figure and the legends around him, weaving a story tinged with the paranormal to explore the truth behind the myth.
Oriol's stunning artwork elevates the entire experience. Reading this book feels like gazing at a series of beautifully crafted paintings.
The only downside is that the book feels too short, but it’s better to leave readers wanting more than to stretch the story unnecessarily.
All in all, it's a captivating read. I also love the texture of the cover and the beautiful edition by Arte de Autor and A Seita.
March 12, 2020
A fictional tale about a real life painter from Barcelona who disappeared early on in his career. Balaguer was a reclusive artist on the scene reluctant to sell his paintings even though he was penniless and owed creditors thousands. I like how this took a Twilight Zone type twist.
Received a review copy from Europe Comics and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
Received a review copy from Europe Comics and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
January 18, 2020
Story - 3/5
Art - 5/5
The Muse gives a supernatural spin to the story of Vidal Balaguer - a nearly forgotten artist of the 19th/20th century. The Muse tries to show the last days of his documented life and suggest what could have happened.
Vidal fell in love with one of his models, but she disappeared without a trace after he's finished her painting. He's broken, emotionally and financially. For unknown reasons, he doesn't agree to sell his best paintings. To make matters worse, Police thinks he can be responsible for stealing a corpse and, perhaps, murdering his model.
While the story isn't exactly groundbreaking it offers good pacing, solid plotting, and spectacular art. On the whole, it's a beautifully illustrated mystery story I'll reread just for the pleasure of admiring Oriol's panels.
ARC through NetGalley
Art - 5/5
The Muse gives a supernatural spin to the story of Vidal Balaguer - a nearly forgotten artist of the 19th/20th century. The Muse tries to show the last days of his documented life and suggest what could have happened.
Vidal fell in love with one of his models, but she disappeared without a trace after he's finished her painting. He's broken, emotionally and financially. For unknown reasons, he doesn't agree to sell his best paintings. To make matters worse, Police thinks he can be responsible for stealing a corpse and, perhaps, murdering his model.
While the story isn't exactly groundbreaking it offers good pacing, solid plotting, and spectacular art. On the whole, it's a beautifully illustrated mystery story I'll reread just for the pleasure of admiring Oriol's panels.
ARC through NetGalley
February 1, 2022
"Con este juego de engaños pretendo reivindicar el cómic como un arte mayor"
- Oriol Hernández (crtač, r. 1983)
Kakva kreativna zabava! Inteligentno da ne poveruješ.
Ovo NIJE samo strip već kompletan umetnički projekat. Ono, s misijom i vizijom da pozicionira strip i ilustraciju u istu ravan sa slikarstvom.
Prvo su Oriol i Zidtou hteli da rade strip o stvarnom slikaru - Joaquim Mir. Ali kad su shvatili da francusko-belgijska publika ionako nema pojma o ovom malo poznatom predstavniku španske moderne, onda su rešili sve da izmisle i tako je stvoren slikar Vidal Balaguer koji se rodio 1873. u Barseloni, pripadao katalonskoj moderni, misteriozno nestao tokom života i do skoro mu nije bilo traga.
Članak iz La Vanguardia o stripu, izložbi i celom projektu - OVDE
Lažna wiki stranica izdavača da publika poveže opsenu - OVDE
Za potrebe stripa, ne samo što je rekonstruisan život fiktivnog slikara, već i njegov kompletan slikarski opus: 11 su preuzete stripske stable, a dodatnih 19 slika uključujuće i portrete iz epohe je Oriol naslikao za izložbu. "Proizvedena" je prateća stručna literatura - doktorska disertacija (autor: Roser Domènech, Silencis que parlen: artistes maleïts a la nostra Història de l’Art) o Vidalovom radu, kritički članci. Isfabrikovana lična prepiska.
Sve to je izlagano 2017. godine u galeriji “Gothsland”: link ka izložbi iz 2017. godine
Narativ počinje 30. decembra 1939. godine, prisećanjem stvarnog slikara, spomenuti Joaquim Mir, na svog prijatelja Vidala Balaguera koji je nestao četrdeset godina ranije (1889). Tu nas strip vraća u 19. vek, crtežom i atmosferom, i krećemo da pratimo biografiju Vidala koja teče obično, a završi MAGIČNO!!!
Ne.vi.đe.no! :))
- Oriol Hernández (crtač, r. 1983)
Kakva kreativna zabava! Inteligentno da ne poveruješ.
Ovo NIJE samo strip već kompletan umetnički projekat. Ono, s misijom i vizijom da pozicionira strip i ilustraciju u istu ravan sa slikarstvom.
Prvo su Oriol i Zidtou hteli da rade strip o stvarnom slikaru - Joaquim Mir. Ali kad su shvatili da francusko-belgijska publika ionako nema pojma o ovom malo poznatom predstavniku španske moderne, onda su rešili sve da izmisle i tako je stvoren slikar Vidal Balaguer koji se rodio 1873. u Barseloni, pripadao katalonskoj moderni, misteriozno nestao tokom života i do skoro mu nije bilo traga.
Članak iz La Vanguardia o stripu, izložbi i celom projektu - OVDE
Lažna wiki stranica izdavača da publika poveže opsenu - OVDE
Za potrebe stripa, ne samo što je rekonstruisan život fiktivnog slikara, već i njegov kompletan slikarski opus: 11 su preuzete stripske stable, a dodatnih 19 slika uključujuće i portrete iz epohe je Oriol naslikao za izložbu. "Proizvedena" je prateća stručna literatura - doktorska disertacija (autor: Roser Domènech, Silencis que parlen: artistes maleïts a la nostra Història de l’Art) o Vidalovom radu, kritički članci. Isfabrikovana lična prepiska.
Sve to je izlagano 2017. godine u galeriji “Gothsland”: link ka izložbi iz 2017. godine
Narativ počinje 30. decembra 1939. godine, prisećanjem stvarnog slikara, spomenuti Joaquim Mir, na svog prijatelja Vidala Balaguera koji je nestao četrdeset godina ranije (1889). Tu nas strip vraća u 19. vek, crtežom i atmosferom, i krećemo da pratimo biografiju Vidala koja teče obično, a završi MAGIČNO!!!
Ne.vi.đe.no! :))
January 8, 2020
Wonderful art style and a pretty sold story (didn't really care for the "missing woman fuelling a guy's man-pain but nobody cares about HER" aspect). I really liked the finale but, in the end, I'm confused about what it was trying to say. It doesn't delve deep into art or love, the two subjects I'm pretty sure it's about. Was it just a biography for Vidal, just spruced up for modern audiences? Maybe it wasn't even trying to say anything and I'm trying to read too much into it. Either way, 3 stars, because it was enjoyable while I was reading it but it didn't make much of an impact.
**I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own**
**I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own**
June 11, 2020
" How can someone be gone for so long and still be so present "
A beautiful graphic novel with amazing illustrations. The story is about this painter who is telling to his muse about his lost friend and artist Vidal Balaguer. Vidal dissapears on the eve of 1900 in Barcelona España. The police is convinced that Vidal is responsible for the disappearance of his muse Mar and the corpse of and old woman. The story is very intriguing, it was short but super entertaining.
Thanks to Zidrou and Oriol for create this beautiful story and netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest opinion.
A beautiful graphic novel with amazing illustrations. The story is about this painter who is telling to his muse about his lost friend and artist Vidal Balaguer. Vidal dissapears on the eve of 1900 in Barcelona España. The police is convinced that Vidal is responsible for the disappearance of his muse Mar and the corpse of and old woman. The story is very intriguing, it was short but super entertaining.
Thanks to Zidrou and Oriol for create this beautiful story and netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest opinion.
September 4, 2018
Todo aquel que lea a Zidrou en castellano, sabe que es un autor al que hay que acercarse con cuidado en días regulares, porque tiene tendencia a joderte la vida a nada que te descuides. Luego en Francia le publican obras de mayor espectro, pero aquí solemos ir a por lo que nos duele. Esta vez y por suerte, me he encontrado con algo un poco menos descorazonador y bastante curioso a la vez.
Curioso porque es un cómic sobre un pintor catalán que no ha existido nunca, pero sobre el que se creó una campaña como si hubiera sido un pintor modernista perdido del siglo XIX del que se hubieran encontrado unas pocas obras en un piso barcelonés. A tal efecto se debió de organizar incluso una presentación en una galería catalana. Muy fan de tomarse tan en serio la vendida de moto de tu historia.
El tema es que dicha vendida de moto funciona incluso si te topas con el cómic de casualidad y no te enteras de tales maniobras. Uno abre el álbum con el corazón resguardado antes los habituales embates a los que lo suele someter el autor Francés y se va encontrando una historia con tono triste, pero intrigante. Un viejo pintor, con el día torcido, decide contarle a su joven modelo, por insistencia de esta, la historia de la desaparición, hace años, de otro pinto amigo suyo, el ínclito Vidal Balaguer.
Para mi sorpresa, la historia va pasando de un género a otro mas gótico/fantástico e incluso negro en su fondo, pero sin perder el tono. Tono marcado por Zidrou, sabedor de que escriba lo que escriba te tiene pillado desde el primer momento y apuntalado por un Oriol al dibujo al que no me queda mas que calificar como inmenso. Muy recomendable y otra pequeña obra de arte en todos los sentidos.
Curioso porque es un cómic sobre un pintor catalán que no ha existido nunca, pero sobre el que se creó una campaña como si hubiera sido un pintor modernista perdido del siglo XIX del que se hubieran encontrado unas pocas obras en un piso barcelonés. A tal efecto se debió de organizar incluso una presentación en una galería catalana. Muy fan de tomarse tan en serio la vendida de moto de tu historia.
El tema es que dicha vendida de moto funciona incluso si te topas con el cómic de casualidad y no te enteras de tales maniobras. Uno abre el álbum con el corazón resguardado antes los habituales embates a los que lo suele someter el autor Francés y se va encontrando una historia con tono triste, pero intrigante. Un viejo pintor, con el día torcido, decide contarle a su joven modelo, por insistencia de esta, la historia de la desaparición, hace años, de otro pinto amigo suyo, el ínclito Vidal Balaguer.
Para mi sorpresa, la historia va pasando de un género a otro mas gótico/fantástico e incluso negro en su fondo, pero sin perder el tono. Tono marcado por Zidrou, sabedor de que escriba lo que escriba te tiene pillado desde el primer momento y apuntalado por un Oriol al dibujo al que no me queda mas que calificar como inmenso. Muy recomendable y otra pequeña obra de arte en todos los sentidos.
February 14, 2024
A hard but certainly heart-warming story with beautiful illustrations!
The story reflects the life of a dreamy man who finds his passion in painting and the people around him.
Enchanted by his muse,
loved by his friends,
but others make his life difficult.
This book is as one of the main characters beautifully describes "food for the soul"
The story reflects the life of a dreamy man who finds his passion in painting and the people around him.
Enchanted by his muse,
loved by his friends,
but others make his life difficult.
This book is as one of the main characters beautifully describes "food for the soul"
April 18, 2020
Je n'avais jamais entendu parler avant de cette BD pourtant le nom de Zidrou et la beauté de la couverture a éveillé ma curiosité et je ne regrette pas un seul instant !
L'histoire évoque un artiste-peintre dont la muse a mystérieusement disparu, un artiste qui aurait existé si l'on en croit les auteurs qui décrivent sa vie à la fin de l'album et pourtant c'est totalement faux. Un mensonge brillant qui donne encore plus d'authenticité à cette histoire fantastique. Zidrou a même jusqu'à créer une fausse page Wikipédia au nom du peintre !
Les dessins et les couleurs ne sont pas sans rappeler la peinture à l’huile. Je reste admirative par le travail d'Oriol et de ce qu'il a réussi à recréer dans cette BD.
À découvrir.
Retrouvez mes chroniques sur https://pause-the.blogspot.com/
L'histoire évoque un artiste-peintre dont la muse a mystérieusement disparu, un artiste qui aurait existé si l'on en croit les auteurs qui décrivent sa vie à la fin de l'album et pourtant c'est totalement faux. Un mensonge brillant qui donne encore plus d'authenticité à cette histoire fantastique. Zidrou a même jusqu'à créer une fausse page Wikipédia au nom du peintre !
Les dessins et les couleurs ne sont pas sans rappeler la peinture à l’huile. Je reste admirative par le travail d'Oriol et de ce qu'il a réussi à recréer dans cette BD.
À découvrir.
Retrouvez mes chroniques sur https://pause-the.blogspot.com/
January 4, 2020
3,5/5. A nice intrusion in the painting world with illustrations that felt like painting, really great job on the artworks, and a story that, even if a bit slow for me, was interesting and worth reading.
September 21, 2020
Well, as another reviewer pointed out, this is a very Twilight Zone-style fable about an artist who discovers everything he paints mysteriously disappears, beginning with a beautiful model he obsesses over. Ironically, we sympathize with the artist in spite of his insanely impractical attitudes about selling (or rather, never selling) his work.
As graphic novels go this is one of the most sophisticated and intelligent ones I've ever read. Zidrou's writing is perfectly noted for its time period (pre-20th Century France) and never sinks to the sensational, which normally cripples graphic novels.
Of perfectly equal merit is Oriol's outstanding artwork, which perfectly captures the look of bistros, city streets and ateliers of that period. This must have been a labor of love for both creators, and it shows. Highly recommended.
As graphic novels go this is one of the most sophisticated and intelligent ones I've ever read. Zidrou's writing is perfectly noted for its time period (pre-20th Century France) and never sinks to the sensational, which normally cripples graphic novels.
Of perfectly equal merit is Oriol's outstanding artwork, which perfectly captures the look of bistros, city streets and ateliers of that period. This must have been a labor of love for both creators, and it shows. Highly recommended.
November 8, 2024
8 de 10*
Opinião:
https://abibliotecadajoao.blogspot.co...
Opinião:
https://abibliotecadajoao.blogspot.co...
May 5, 2017
Zeer mooie strip over de schilder en zijn muze...
Toch eens "Drie Vruchten", de vorige samenwerking tussen Zidrou en Oriol, checken tijdens mijn volgende bezoek aan de stripwinkel. Hun eerste, 'Het Vel van de Beer', net als 'Verstild Leven' een mooi staaltje magisch realisme, vond ik namelijk ook zéér goed.
Toch eens "Drie Vruchten", de vorige samenwerking tussen Zidrou en Oriol, checken tijdens mijn volgende bezoek aan de stripwinkel. Hun eerste, 'Het Vel van de Beer', net als 'Verstild Leven' een mooi staaltje magisch realisme, vond ik namelijk ook zéér goed.
December 18, 2020
*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I absolutely loved this graphic novel. It’s storytelling was so smooth and enveloping, and the art was absolutely stunning. I didn’t know the story of Vidal, but I’m incredibly glad I do now. I would read anything else this author/artist created.
I absolutely loved this graphic novel. It’s storytelling was so smooth and enveloping, and the art was absolutely stunning. I didn’t know the story of Vidal, but I’m incredibly glad I do now. I would read anything else this author/artist created.
January 26, 2020
A fascinating graphic novel which explores the disappearance of the artist Vidal Balaguer, known as "the forgotten genius" of Catalan Modernism, who vanished on the eve of 1900.
There are many questions about Balaguer and his disappearance and whether he murdered his muse and lover, Mar. In this story Zidrou explores a possible answer to the mystery. Zidrou always produces thoughtful and beautifully illustrated graphic novels and the art work in this one conveys the haunting nature of the story. It is beautifully illustrated and beautifully told.
Copy provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for and unbiased review.
There are many questions about Balaguer and his disappearance and whether he murdered his muse and lover, Mar. In this story Zidrou explores a possible answer to the mystery. Zidrou always produces thoughtful and beautifully illustrated graphic novels and the art work in this one conveys the haunting nature of the story. It is beautifully illustrated and beautifully told.
Copy provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for and unbiased review.
January 31, 2020
My thanks to Europe Comics for a digital edition via NetGalley of ‘The Muse’ with script by Zidrou and art by Oriol in exchange for an honest review. It was originally published in French as ‘Still Lives’ and translated by Matt Madden.
This graphic novel tells the story of an ageing Catalan painter, who while working in his Barcelona studio in 1939 shares with his model the mystery of his best friend Vidal Balaguer, “the forgotten genius” of Catalan Modernism, who vanished on the eve of 1900.
Vidal’s story links to another disappearance a few months earlier of his muse and lover, Mar, the subject of his most famous painting, “Young Lady in a Mantón." A police detective is convinced that Balaguer had murdered his model but things are not that straightforward.
I was fascinated to learn that Vidal Balaguer was indeed a painter and it appears that Oriol Hernandez is passionate about bringing him and his work to a wider audience. This is a fictional biography and I did wonder if Vidal had existed or not.
However, the original page for the graphic novel reads:
“Still lives: the imaginary biography of a forgotten genius of Catalan painting by Zidrou and Oriol A prodigy of Catatan modernism, his name has not spanned centuries or even borders. Zidrou and Oriol resuscitate him for an album. Back to the Vidal Balaguer mystery…
Do not search the internet for hours, you will not find anything if it is not a Wikipedia page created by Dargaud editions. We learn that the man was born in 1873 in Barcelona, studied Fine Arts at La Llotja, maintained tumultuous relationships with his mistresses before finally disappearing in 1899.” (Translated from French)
The art in this graphic novel was excellent and was very much in the style of the period. It concludes with a short article by Roser Domenech, a professor of art history at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, about Balaguer’s life and work. It includes an extract from his 1897 notebook that explains something of his personality: “Painting is a part of me. The thought of being exhibited, sold, owned like an object plunges me into bottomless sorrow. No one deserves to be dispossessed of his own self.”
Domenech is part of a project seeking to recover Balaguer’s paintings and to bring the artist back from oblivion. I do feel that in creating this work Zidrou and Oriol have contributed in their own way to this project.
I appreciate Europe Comics publishing this graphic novel as it not only is an imaginative story, with excellent artwork but also educational.
This graphic novel tells the story of an ageing Catalan painter, who while working in his Barcelona studio in 1939 shares with his model the mystery of his best friend Vidal Balaguer, “the forgotten genius” of Catalan Modernism, who vanished on the eve of 1900.
Vidal’s story links to another disappearance a few months earlier of his muse and lover, Mar, the subject of his most famous painting, “Young Lady in a Mantón." A police detective is convinced that Balaguer had murdered his model but things are not that straightforward.
I was fascinated to learn that Vidal Balaguer was indeed a painter and it appears that Oriol Hernandez is passionate about bringing him and his work to a wider audience. This is a fictional biography and I did wonder if Vidal had existed or not.
However, the original page for the graphic novel reads:
“Still lives: the imaginary biography of a forgotten genius of Catalan painting by Zidrou and Oriol A prodigy of Catatan modernism, his name has not spanned centuries or even borders. Zidrou and Oriol resuscitate him for an album. Back to the Vidal Balaguer mystery…
Do not search the internet for hours, you will not find anything if it is not a Wikipedia page created by Dargaud editions. We learn that the man was born in 1873 in Barcelona, studied Fine Arts at La Llotja, maintained tumultuous relationships with his mistresses before finally disappearing in 1899.” (Translated from French)
The art in this graphic novel was excellent and was very much in the style of the period. It concludes with a short article by Roser Domenech, a professor of art history at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, about Balaguer’s life and work. It includes an extract from his 1897 notebook that explains something of his personality: “Painting is a part of me. The thought of being exhibited, sold, owned like an object plunges me into bottomless sorrow. No one deserves to be dispossessed of his own self.”
Domenech is part of a project seeking to recover Balaguer’s paintings and to bring the artist back from oblivion. I do feel that in creating this work Zidrou and Oriol have contributed in their own way to this project.
I appreciate Europe Comics publishing this graphic novel as it not only is an imaginative story, with excellent artwork but also educational.
January 31, 2020
This copy was provided by Netgalley.
WARNINGS: This book has nudity in it.
The Muse by Zidrou, Art by Oriol is a wonderful tale about a long lost and forgotten painter, Vidal Balaguer, who struggled in the artist's life with debts that were needed to be paid.
I honestly didn't know where this story was going until the middle of it where it turned into a mystery/thriller book except for this time it has the best ending it could have. I loved the art style, it was more of the 19th century.
I loved it... It was the most meaningful thing I have ever read so far about a painter's life.
Anybody who is looking to read something so short, but meaningful should read this. Also if you have interests in paintings, you should definitely go ahead and check it out.
WARNINGS: This book has nudity in it.
The Muse by Zidrou, Art by Oriol is a wonderful tale about a long lost and forgotten painter, Vidal Balaguer, who struggled in the artist's life with debts that were needed to be paid.
I honestly didn't know where this story was going until the middle of it where it turned into a mystery/thriller book except for this time it has the best ending it could have. I loved the art style, it was more of the 19th century.
I loved it... It was the most meaningful thing I have ever read so far about a painter's life.
Anybody who is looking to read something so short, but meaningful should read this. Also if you have interests in paintings, you should definitely go ahead and check it out.
March 30, 2020
curiosa historia sobre el pintor Vidal Balaguer del modernismo catalán en 1899. Un pintor de mucho talento que desapareció de la noche a la mañana. Al tratarse de un pintor las viñetas tienen un estilo artístico propio, muy adecuados para contar esta historia de medio fantasía, pero a falta de saber la realidad, quienes somos nosotros para descartarla
July 1, 2022
Además de conocer mejor la obra de Vidal Balaguer es como mirar por un agujerito a la Barcelona modernista de finales del XIX. Me ha encantado.
February 18, 2020
Every artist has secret techniques
Vidal Balaguer hasn't sold a painting in a while. His life is pretty bland until the meets ''the muse''. The girl of his dreams who inspires him to paint. The only problem is that she disappears when he needs her the most. Worse, is it possible that Vidal had something to do with it?
Love the twist of the plot. The illustrations are very artistic, looking like tiny paintings themselves.
Vidal Balaguer hasn't sold a painting in a while. His life is pretty bland until the meets ''the muse''. The girl of his dreams who inspires him to paint. The only problem is that she disappears when he needs her the most. Worse, is it possible that Vidal had something to do with it?
Love the twist of the plot. The illustrations are very artistic, looking like tiny paintings themselves.
April 19, 2022
Grafische roman over een op jonge leeftijd verdwenen Spaanse schilder, aan het einde van de negentiende eeuw. Om eerlijk te zijn heeft het verhaal van de Belgische scenarist Zidrou niet veel om het lijf en is eigenlijk wat teleurstellend eendimensionaal, maar het schilderwerk van Oriol Hernández is fantastisch en brengt de fin de siècle zeer fraai tot leven. Helaas dus toch meer een kijkstrip dan een leesstrip.
January 26, 2020
I really liked this, especially the ending.
I also don't understand the ending with the loan shark guy but I'm sure its because I'm not in Paris. Anyways this story is about a disappearance of a muse. Then later on the painter of this muse that disappears also then disappears himself. I feel like this graphic novel would be a great fairy tale to tell children or at least it has that feel.
I also don't understand the ending with the loan shark guy but I'm sure its because I'm not in Paris. Anyways this story is about a disappearance of a muse. Then later on the painter of this muse that disappears also then disappears himself. I feel like this graphic novel would be a great fairy tale to tell children or at least it has that feel.
February 2, 2020
Copy provided in exchange for an honest review.
This was a quick one but I really enjoyed it. The art was great and suited the plot well, and the main character was fleshed out.
Somewhat based on a true story - a struggling artist comes under investigation when the muse of his best portrait goes missing. I don't want to say any more than that, as it is best left that way.
Would recommend.
This was a quick one but I really enjoyed it. The art was great and suited the plot well, and the main character was fleshed out.
Somewhat based on a true story - a struggling artist comes under investigation when the muse of his best portrait goes missing. I don't want to say any more than that, as it is best left that way.
Would recommend.
June 27, 2020
Honestly I wasn't expecting much with this short comic, I just needed something to get me out of my reading slump. The storyline was actually a lot more captivating than I thought it would be. I do like that this comic is based on an actual artist in the 19th century who disappeared - and a magical theory of how he disappeared.
May 29, 2022
Only halfway through I realized I already read this years ago...
January 17, 2020
A mature European comic translated. Following the the speculative history of an late 19th century artists named Vidal Balaguer. I loved the legend interwoven in this graphic novel, and found the story interesting. Mature themes and beautiful illustrations with a touch of art history and legend, this was a unique graphic novel. A few spots were spotty with the translation, but forgivable. The e-book version I received from net galley left the text a bit blurry, but hopefully this is fixed in the printed edition. Very interesting read and I liked how at the end there is a short bio explaining the true life scenarios explaining the inspiration of this depiction of Vidal's life.
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