The Cross-Eyed Mutt

by Étienne Davodeau

Fabian is supervisor at the Louvre. He loves his job. He also loves Mathilde. When it comes time, she presents him to her family in their vast country house and not without some apprehension, as the Benion clan is a bit special. There’s her father, Louis, who heads since 1975 the family furniture company founded in 1947, and two brothers, Maxime and Joseph. They’re not bad guys, just rather clumsy and with a decidedly unsubtle sense of humor. The fact that Fabian works in the Louvre is a welcome coincidence, since they just found in the attic a painting by an ancestor in the nineteenth century. It’s a sorry representation of a cross-eyed mutt. What is the value? ask the Benion. Is this an eyesore or a masterpiece? Fabian, pretty embarrassed, punts on the question. So for the Benion, case closed, if it ain’t an eyesore then no doubt it has its place on the walls of the Louvre! Fabian is left hoping the whole delusion will just go away, until one day the two brothers show up at the Louvre and ask. Getting the Cross-Eyed Mutt into the Louvre would demonstrate his commitment to becoming a member of the Benion family! Fabian is now in a pickle when he meets Mr. André Balouchi, an oddball frequent visitor of the museum who turns out to have quite a bit of clout… A raucous satirical comedy that asks: Who decides what makes a work of art worthy of being in a major museum?

Genres: Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels, Art, Comics, Fiction, France, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Hardcover

First published October 24, 2013

About the author

Il entreprend des études d'arts plastiques en 1985 à Rennes, et fonde avec quelques amis, dont Joub, Jean-Luc et Fred Simon, le studio BD Psurde. Cette petite structure éditoriale leur permet de publier leurs premiers travaux, dont un album collectif, La Vie Tourmentée d'Ernest Formidable.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma]

I really liked Davodeau's (more serious) Lulu, which focuses on a quiet woman who quite suddenly leaves home to spend time at the sea. She needs to find herself. I had mixed feelings about the uneven dialogue, but I liked it quite a bit at the time, finally. This one is lighter, completely different from Lulu, a story of Fabien, a Louvre security guard who loves Matilde. He meets her family, the Benions, in a rural area, and discovers they are not artistically or in any way sophisticated, and in general a little crude, though they make furniture, fine furniture, and have as a family done so for several decades. They also have a great great great grandfather who created "folk art" including a sort of comic rendition of a cross-eyed mutt. It's not Louvre-type art. But why not?

So the basic focus of this graphic novel is the nature of art. Who gets to say what it is, who gets to choose what goes in museums? How can we appreciate a range of art for different reasons than just the aesthetic?

Keyed by the word "Mutt" I was reminded of "R. Mutt," the signature Duchamps used to sign his found urinal, which he called art and placed in an art museum:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountai...

This rather uneven tale is sort of a love story; it's also kind of a silly, satirical, madcap tale about a "rough-edged" family who want to honor their great (etcetera) grandfather's artistic creation, which they like for various reasons. This family is also quite pleased to find that furniture is honored in the Louvre. The book also posits a secret underground Louvre committee that chooses for various subjective reasons the art that they decide is great (and then in an appendix Davodeau explains the process more seriously). That The Cross-Eyed Mutt actually gets hung in one of the major rooms for a time, well, that is farcical, but puts an exclamation point on Davodeau's tale.

I liked it all right; it's uneven, a bit like Lulu, but has likable elements. The lightly profane and rude Benion family help to make the point about issues of quality, extending to issues of humor and class.

[Auntie Terror]

You could say it's about the question of what art is. Sadly, neither the story nor the artwork were especially intriguing to me...

[Alberto Martín de Hijas]

Un Davodeau más ligero que en otras ocasiones pero no menos interesante. La idea de presentar una historia en el Louvre desde el punto de vista de un vigilante es muy original y la relación del protagonista con su pareja y familia política está muy bien llevada (En mi opinión la forma en la que desarrolla relaciones personales es uno de los puntos fuertes del autor)

[Chad]

Fabian is a security guard working at the Louvre. When he goes to meet his girlfriend's family for the first time, they put pressure on him to get a terrible, old, family painting into the Louvre. But how will a security guard get an ugly painting of a dog into one of the most famous museums in the world?

The art was quite good and perfectly fit the story. A quirky, snarky look at who decides what makes art great.

Received an advance copy from NBM and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Romain]

Le Louvre et la bande dessinée, c’est une longue histoire. Il doit exister une douzaine d’ouvrages co-édités par le célèbre musée et la très belle maison d’édition Futuropolis. Le but du jeu est d’inspirer les auteurs en leur imposant la contrainte du Louvre – en même il y a pire / plus restrictif comme contrainte. Les contraintes engendrent souvent des résultats inattendus et c’est le cas ici – pas pour les raisons que l’on croit. Davodeau, en véritable artisan qui travaille souvent en immersion – un peu à la manière d’un reporter – et qui aime par dessus tout dépeindre les gens, a relevé le défi avec plus ou moins de réussite.

L’idée de centrer l’histoire sur un gardien est excellente. En visitant un musé on est obligé de se poser la question, de se demander ce qu’ils peuvent bien faire toute la journée à part surveiller les gens – et regarder leur montre. Ils observent les oeuvres et le petit manège des visiteurs. Malheureusement, il n’est pas resté centré sur cette idée, mais en a exploité une autre. Celle de la rencontre entre l’art et les milieux populaires – on entre sur son terrain de prédilection et on sort du mien.

Cette idée est introduite par la compagne du gardien et par sa famille qui sont tous, elle incluse, plus détestables les uns que les autres – sauf le grand-père peut-être. Je trouve qu’il y avait mieux à faire en exploitant par exemple le mano à mano entre le gardien et l’érudit. Je ne sais pas si c’est cette famille des plus énervante ou le rocambolesque du scénario – et je pèse mes mots –, mais le fait est que le résultat est très décevant. Décevant à double titre puisque premièrement Davodeau est un auteur dont j’apprécie les ouvrages cf. par exemple Les Ignorants, et deuxièmement car j’avais lu précédemment un très bon – devrais-je dire un excellent – titre de cette collection dédiée au Louvre: Les Sous-sols du Révolu.

Également publié sur mon blog.

[StrictlySequential ArtNarrative]

I'm going to use the word EXTRAORDINARY.

The story is brilliantly original- the themes, like all others, has surely been written but their combination seems one-of-a-kind. It's funny, tender AND interesting.

It's centered around a charming love story of an unspectacular couple (regular- not captivating in looks or demeanor) and the delicacies that the veteran Louvre security guard faces with his intense and intimidating in-laws. Then it gets lavished with bizarre expectations and my-type-of-weird characters who engage in clandestine mechanizations. All become involved with an very amateur painting of a cross-eyed mutt and you get to follow its unique journey.

I don't have the time to get into all the methods of storytelling that I admired but this book achieved what I primarily read this series for FAAAAAR beyond the rest listed below- it's the best approach I can think of taking to that end. You get the best tour of the works in the museum- you visit MANY different rooms of such delightful variance by getting the employee perspective.

Ranking "The Louvre Collection" that I've read so far:
1.) "The Cross-Eyed Mutt"
2.) "An Enchantment"
3.) Taniguchi...
4.) Prudhomme...
5.) "On the Odd Hours"

[Sandrine]

Lecture très sympathique.
J'ai pris beaucoup de plaisir à lire cette BD. Le graphisme correspond tout à fait à ce que j'aime: un trait réaliste qui nous promène dans Paris et surtout au musée du Louvre.
Je trouve que le scénario sert le dessin contrairement à ce que je peux lire d'habitude. L'histoire n'est donc pas des plus "palpitante" même si elle est très drôle. Les personnages sont très attachants.
Bref, j'ai passé un très bon moment et je suis ravie que ma bibliothèque municipale m'ait permis de connaître cette BD.

[Laura]

When I was in England for the World Science Fiction Convention in Brighton, low over 30 years ago, I was traveling with a friend that said that as long as we were in the UK, we should also check out France. As Americans, that really does make some sort of sense. We also visited the part of Wales where the Prisoner was filmed, as well as making our way up to Scotland in a 100 year old train. It was an interesting time.

We took the boat across, since the Chunnel hadn't been built yet, and got a cheap place in the center of Paris. We were only there three days, but we managed to hit all the hot spots. We went to the Tour Eiffel, Sacre Cours, and of course the Louvre. Back then, though there were crowds around the Mona Lisa, you could still get close enough to see it, and the Nike of Samathrese was at the top of the stairs. I remember thinking, as the protagonist does in this story, that there were a lot of art that because they were close to the famous ones, that they got neglected.

Fabian is not an artist. He is not someone high up in the Louvre. He is a guard, and he has met his girlfriend's family who think that their great-great grandfather has drawn a masterpiece, that they have kept in the family for generations, and well, since he works at the Louvre, could he just slip it in.

I wouldn't say this is a hilarious story. It is slow, and thoughtful, and boy, either the illustrator did a lot of work studying the Louvre, or had been there, because the pictures of the inside are goureous. It is lovely to see these rooms, years after I have been there.

Not a bad story. Not ground breaking, but beautifully drawn, and the afterward talks about how art is purchased for the Louvre.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Ivana]

https://bookprejudice.wordpress.com/2...

The Cross-Eyed Mutt is a graphic novel created by Étienne Davodeau. The name The Cross-Eyed Mutt is the name of a painting around which this graphic novel revolves around. The main character Fabian works at the Louvre as a guard and when his simple-minded in-laws find that out they show him the previously mentioned painting in hopes he will tell them it deserves to be hanged in the Louvre. We than follow Fabians gripping adventures as he tries to get the silly painting hanged in the Louvre.

I find this graphic novel quite charming. It was not revolutionary or like-nothing-you-have-ever-seen-before, but I think the story as well as the characters was very easy-going and quite relaxing to delve into. I rather enjoyed reading this graphic novel!
My favorite character was none other than the lovely Mr. André Balouchi. I could really connect with his simple love of art. Also, I loved how full of interesting information he was. The plot twist including him made him even more interesting, but I will leave that for you to discover for yourself.
The illustrations are rather average, with the exception of the illustrations of the artwork in the Louvre which is in my opinion very cute and lovely.

I received this graphic novel in exchange for a review.

[Jose]

Bland and a bit annoying. The bland part is the story, really goes nowhere: a self-entitled family who is very proud of caring nothing for culture, the Benions, want a horrid picture of their ancestor in the Louvre and they enlist the hapless Fabian, a museum guard (is that really all he does?), to get it done. Fabian is dating one of the clan, you see. Mr. Belucchi, an assiduous visitor to the museum, turns out to be quite supportive of the whole affair for unknown reasons. He is part of a secret society of Louvre addicts... Anyway, sounds like a good typically French premise but it really just glides gently into a silly ending. I added one star for the drawing quality which is ok, nothing too groundbreaking either.

[Andrée]

Léger, mignon, rigolo. La première apparition du fameux chien qui louche m'a bien fait rire. On s'attend à plus d'action peut-être, plus de drame, mais au final, il y a assez peu de conflit dans cette petite histoire charmante. Elle ne vous causera pas de palpitations, mais elle vous fera sans doute sourire et passer un petit moment agréable, surtout si vous êtes du genre à déambuler dans les musées et vous imaginer l'histoire personnelle des œuvres, des artistes et des visiteurs.

[George Ilsley]

A French satirical comedy that perhaps only the French might find raucous. There’s the security guard at the Louvre, and his girlfriend’s family, and art and coincidences, and well, please brace yourself for a French satirical comedy.

[Lydie THEVENON]

Un Davodeau comme on n'a pas l'habitude d'en lire, très léger !

[Etienne Mahieux]

De temps en temps l'envie prend aux Musées nationaux de commander des œuvres à des artistes intéressants : ce fut notamment le cas au cinéma, avec des résultats comme « L’Heure d’été » d’Olivier Assayas ou « Le Voyage du ballon rouge » de Hou Hsiao-hsien, commandités par le musée d’Orsay ; le Louvre a de même proposé aux éditions Futuropolis de susciter des albums de bande dessinée. Avec « Le Chien qui louche », Étienne Davodeau a brillamment relevé le défi.
Son personnage principal, Fabien, est gardien au musée du Louvre, ce qui consiste notamment à indiquer à un nombre considérable de gens où se trouve la Joconde, et à se faire moquer plus encore qu’un professeur sur l’absence de difficulté d’une profession qui semble consister à se tenir assis dans une salle. Il est au début d’une histoire d’amour avec Mathilde ; très impliqué, il la presse d’accepter d’habiter avec lui. Elle semble soucieuse de son indépendance mais le présente tout de même à sa redoutable famille, des marchands de meubles du Maine-et-Loire — si elle est montée à Paris, c’est notamment pour échapper au clan. Or le clan est uni, notamment, dans le souvenir d’un ancêtre, Gustave Benion, qui au début du dix-neuvième siècle était un peu écrivain et un peu peintre, et dont il reste une toile au grenier, représentant un odieux clébard affligé (et affligeant) d’un strabisme divergent. Puisque le nouveau beau-frère travaille au Louvre, l’objectif s’impose : que « Le Chien qui louche » entre dans les collections du prestigieux musée. C’est mal parti.
Davodeau ne triche pas avec la commande : une bonne partie des scènes de l’album se déroulent au musée du Louvre et interrogent le rapport avec le lieu de certains visiteurs assidus. C’est pour lui l’occasion de croquer les collections dans toute leur variété, des antiquités égyptiennes au mobilier, des sculptures classiques aux collections de peinture. Selon son habitude, il propose un dessin rehaussé de lavis en noir et blanc, qui lui permet d’évoquer les œuvres qu’il observe sans rentrer jamais dans un rapport d’imitation directe ou de rivalité avec elles. C’est un travail à la fois plein d’admiration et d’amour, et léger, au point que Davodeau joue à monter ces représentations d’œuvres avec des dialogues hors champ, avec un effet comique savoureux.
Au-delà du plaisir de dessiner et du caractère assez loufoque de l’intrigue, « Le Chien qui louche » s’inscrit aussi dans les préoccupations les plus profondes de l’œuvre de Davodeau. Par le biais de la famille Benion, il poursuit le travail de représentation des classes populaires qui est au cœur de son œuvre. La problématique ici est celle de l’accès à la culture. Les frères de Mathilde, bien qu’ils soient chefs d’entreprise, maintiennent vivant voire surjouent leur lien avec la condition d’artisan, et l’opposition entre métiers manuels et intellectuels. L’art est pour eux une valeur, mais une valeur partiellement inaccessible, liée à des institutions à la fois mal connues (le Louvre, « c’est le grand machin avec une espèce de pyramide au milieu ? ») et valant garantie du monde extérieur (ils ont également une fascination pour l’Académie française). L’objectif secret du récit est donc de les mettre en rapport direct avec les œuvres du Louvre, un rapport qui ne sera pas sans bévues mais un rapport essentiellement vivant et ludique qui n’est pas sans lien avec le rapport entre les œuvres et le trait de Davodeau.
« Le Chien qui louche » a les proportions d’un roman graphique plus que celles d’une bande dessinée standard ; il ne s’en dévore pas moins avec une gourmandise suscitée par son humour chaleureux.

[Suziqoregon]

I picked this graphic novel up at the library because it was written by Etienne Davodeau and I've enjoyed two of his other books. I didn't realize until after I read it that it's part of a collection of graphic novels by various artists commissioned by The Louvre that feature the museum. The Louvre Collection series has a wide variety of styles. My library has several of them and I hope to read more of them.

The Cross-Eyed Mutt by Etienne Davodeau

I picked this graphic novel up at the library because it was written by Etienne Davodeau and I've enjoyed two of his other books. I didn't realize until after I read it that it's part of a collection of graphic novels by various artists. The series was commissioned by The Louvre and they all feature the museum. The Louvre Collection series has a wide variety of styles. My library has several of them and I hope to read more of them.

This was a fun little story and I loved the artwork featuring some of the exhibits in the Louvre. It was nice to see glimpses of some favorite pieces in the backgrounds.

The story is about a security guard at the Louvre who meets his girlfriend’s family for the first time. The family finds out he works at the Louvre and asks him to arrange for a painting by their great great grandfather's painting placed in the Louvre. The painting turns out to be hilariously bad.

This is a fun little story with plenty of humor and romance. It's rather delightful.

As with his other books, Davodeau's artwork is lovely. It's all black and white drawings but the details of the backgrounds both at the Louvre and in the countryside is wonderful.

[Wayne McCoy]

'The Cross-Eyed Mutt' by Etienne Davodeau is a graphic novel about the Louvre and asks the question what qualifies as art?

Fabian is a security guard at the Louvre. He spends his days keeping tourists away from the art and pointing in the direction of the Mona Lisa. His girlfriend is Mathilde. When Fabian goes to meet Mathilde's family, he meets a group of odd eccentrics. When they learn Fabian works at the Louvre, they show him an ancient family painting of a cross-eyed dog and ask him if it would be possible for him to have it added to the Louvre. It's a silly painting, and it's nothing to do with the job that Fabian has, but before long, he meets a secret society of folks who may help to make it possible.

I really liked this story and it's commentary on art. How we view art. How we try to capture art on a rushed vacation. Why something qualifies as art, but not something else. The questions don't get answered, but they leave us to ponder them, as good art does.

The art is also fun. The story is set in the Louvre, and it looks like the artist got to spend time in the galleries capturing the art and spectators.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Papercutz and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

[Jack]

What is art? Blobs of paint, chipped stone, a Cross-Eyed Mutt?

Fabian works at a museum, the Louvre, and he adores his girlfriend, Mathilde. Her family, though, is far off-kilter from any point or normality. Or not. Whatever. Like art, maybe, what is weird?

Her brothers, father, and grandfather want to know if their great-great-great-grandfather has painted a hot mess or a hot masterpiece. Either way, it is entitled "The Cross-Eyed Mutt". Does it deserve to hange in the Louvre?

This is a charming graphic novel (note: not for kids - several adult depictions). The family is full of those eccentric characters that one (okay, I) would not like in real life, but they're okay to read about. The art style if very (mostly) realistic, especially the artworks portrayed. All in all, a lovely little story.

[Emmy]

Not my favorite, but an interesting read. I really liked the main character of Fabien (as well as Mathilde and M. Balouchi). I was not, however, a big fan of Mathilde's brothers. Perhaps its because I work in customer service, but their antics made me practically climbing the walls.

Now, I went into this book knowing nothing about it (by design) and it was really interesting to see what would happen. I especially enjoyed hearing about the secret society that determined what went into the Louvre and what did not. To be honest, even until the end, I was not entirely sure that this group really had the clout they said they did, and it was fun to speculate if they were a bunch of nuts or actually really powerful.

[Diane Hernandez]

Sweet graphic novel showcasing the Louvre's acquisition process

Fabien, a Louvre security guard, meets his girlfriend's family for the first time. The family has an ancestor's painting in their attic that they want Fabien to evaluate. What happens to the painting is the plot of this graphic novel.

I really enjoyed the characters in this novel. They seemed very genuine and also very French. The illustrations of the Louvre's art were fantastic. However, my favorite part of the book was the resolution. It's brilliant!

Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

[NoID]

Mathilde va présenter Fabien, son amoureux surveillant au Louvre, à sa famille. Et là, le pépé sort un tableau de famille et dit qu’il pourrait peut-être trouver sa place au musée. Non ? Et d’ailleurs, qu’est-ce qu’une oeuvre, laquelle a sa place au musée et qui décide ?

L’histoire chouki d’un jeune couple, d’un tableau un peu moche (portrait d’un chien qui louche), d’une société secrète et… du Louvre édité aux éditions du Louvre.

Une BD rigolote qui doit se trouver en bonne position dans la boutique du musée

https://www.noid.ch/le-chien-qui-louche/

[Dakota Morgan]

A clever, if mildly forgettable, trifle. A Louvre security guard meets his girlfriend's brash family and they convince him to hang an atrocious painting of theirs in the Louvre. With the help of a mysterious benefactor, the security guard and family try to pull it off. I felt like I was watching a French indie comedy film found deep, deep in the Netflix catalog. It was good and interesting and likable enough. But definitely not worth a re-read.

[Maggie Gordon]

Another entry in the Louvre collection, a strange little series of comics dealing with the famous museum/art gallery. In this one, a security guard finds himself in trouble when his girlfriend's family decides to pressure him to get an ancestor's terrible painting of a cross-eyed mutt into the Louvre. It's a humorous exploration of the meaning behind art done by a master graphic novelist. Nothing utterly groundbreaking, but light and enjoyable, with fantastic art!

[Riet Bots]

Dit is een stripverhaal over kunst: wat kan wel en wat kan niet in een museum. In dit boek is het onderwerp wat lichtvoetig aangepakt, maar er wordt wel een tip van de sluier gelicht over de aanpak binnen een museum, de onderlinge werking tussen suppoosten en het collectiebeleid in het algemeen. Al bij al interessant, en fijn ook dat er op het einde van het boek meer info staat over de werkelijke aanpak.

[Leah]

I enjoyed the illustration style in this book and the story about a sad little painting trying to make it into the Louvre. It is a nice commentary of what makes something good enough to go into a museum?

[Rod Brown]

The book was going along fine in its low-key way until an unlikely secret society was introduced at the midway point. I liked the glimpse inside the Louvre and some of the family humor, but the protagonist has no arc of development and rarely does anything active in the story.

[Robert]

Charming graphic novel that tiptoes up to, and massages questions about art and family and history. The afterword explains how the Louvre builds its collections. Worth reading, though it will likely make you want to visit a museum, and see it through different eyes.

[Manfred Moonlight Ackermann]

C'est du Davodeau, l'humain est là, bien présent, avec toute sa complexité et son humanisme.
Cette histoire n'est pas palpitante, ce n'est pas un page-turner, mais juste une belle histoire, avec l'art en sujet principal ... Intéressant .. à lire.

[Salvador]

An enjoyable read without great pretensions. No hay una idea particularmente original, pero es refrescante volver a cuestiones sobre “qué es el arte” y la introspección que ofrece un vigilante de seguridad y sus avatares en ese embrollo. Una lectura disfrutable.

[Blue]

Hilarious, full of fun characters and a quirky story.

[Warren]

Great drawing of the various collections in the Louvre.