Stephanie Jane recenzis Tangier In The Rain de Fabien Grolleau
A beautiful graphic novel
4 steloj
This graphic novel starts from the very limited known facts of artist Henri Matisse' two visits to Tangier in the early 1910s and goes on to imagine what he might have seen, heard, discussed and, of course, drawn during his stays. I loved the artwork throughout Tangier In The Rain. It often relies solely upon single colour panels with either a terracotta or a blue hue and this is particularly effective for establishing mood as well as being such a contrast with scenes depicted in full, multiple colours. I admit that I wasn't previously aware of his famous Room 35 series (which I've since looked up online!), but I did enjoy spotting the many nods to the Matisse painting style. In the imagined story there's allusions to Sheherezade and, I thought, The Little Prince as well.
The art-inspired story lends itself particularly well to the graphic novel format and, while …
This graphic novel starts from the very limited known facts of artist Henri Matisse' two visits to Tangier in the early 1910s and goes on to imagine what he might have seen, heard, discussed and, of course, drawn during his stays. I loved the artwork throughout Tangier In The Rain. It often relies solely upon single colour panels with either a terracotta or a blue hue and this is particularly effective for establishing mood as well as being such a contrast with scenes depicted in full, multiple colours. I admit that I wasn't previously aware of his famous Room 35 series (which I've since looked up online!), but I did enjoy spotting the many nods to the Matisse painting style. In the imagined story there's allusions to Sheherezade and, I thought, The Little Prince as well.
The art-inspired story lends itself particularly well to the graphic novel format and, while Tangier In The Rain does have a couple of panels depicting female nudity (artistically, of course), the book would be suitable for teenaged readers as well as adults. I feel it could be of particular interest to aspiring artists and students of art history. And as we're heading into British summertime, I'm sure that all of us kept stuck indoors by inclement weather will be able to empathise with Matisse's frustration!