Pascin

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Pascin, a biography of the noted Jewish modernist painter (Julius Mordecai Pincas, known as Pascin, March 31, 1885June 5, 1930), is Joann Sfar's most personal and important work. Pascin is portrayed by Sfar both as a kindred spirit and an aesthetic revolutionary struggling to redefine an art form. Sfar revels in the artist's celebration of all things corporeal in the world of art. Though the story is drenched in sex, it is never eroticized. Created in a direct and immediate drawing style, Sfar focuses more on the artist's personal and sexual life than on his art, and brings Pascin to life as the ultimate bohemian.

Joann Sfar is considered one of the most important artists of the new wave of European comics. He is the author and artist on a great number of acclaimed graphic novels including The Rabbi's Cat, Klezmer: Tales of the Wild East, Vampire Loves, and Dungeon. He wrote and directed Gainsbourg: Une Vie Heroique, the biopic of the illustrious French songwriter and singer. The film was released in 2010 to international acclaim.

Reviews

"One of the Best Comics of the Year. This graphic novel feels like truth, or, as Picasso said of art, it's a lie that makes us realize truth."--Paste Magazine "Sfar wades into such heavy issues as the strangeness of desire, artistic depiction versus reality, and Jewish identity. And Sfar does not shy away from shocking, explicit details, such as Pascin's preteen visit to a brothel. The art shifts wonderfully throughout, adjusting to the moment and the tone of whoever is in Pascin's orbit (in a delightful touch, Sfar's depiction of Chagall echoes the painter's own style). Sfar is a superstar in French cartooning circles, and this is another example of why."--Publishers Weekly "Despite Pascin's frank and uninhibited sexuality, this is hardly some unquestioning celebration of a macho artist's heroic virility: The book may begin with an image of the painter in his studio, shamelessly sans culottes, but here, Sfar pointedly reverses the view from which Pascin painted so many models. The artist -- both Pascin and, by extension, Sfar -- is now the one bared to our scrutiny."--The Globe And Mail "After a cursory flip through these pages, one would expect Sfar's biography of Jewish modernist painter Julius Mortdecai Pincas to be positively pornographic. Panel after panel of general nakedness often, but far from always, leading to varied sexual acts. But this is misleading, and the book engages the reader without any recourse to baser appetites. This is a rather excellent account of the artist's life, serving also as a discourse on the nature of our creative urges."--The Quietus "Wine, women and paint defined artist Jules Pascin, whose Bohemian passion flamed out when he committed suicide in Paris in 1930, at age 45. Born in Bulgaria to a Spanish father and an Italian Serbian mother, Pascin traveled in the American South before settling in Paris, where his free-love, heavy-drinking lifestyle earned him the title "Prince of Montparnasse." Pascin's life, which seems to have included bedding many of his models, comes vividly alive in the graphic novel"--Minneapolis Star Tribune "Though there are scenes of Pascin drawing and painting, Sfar chooses to focus on Pascin's relationships, creating a more humanized portrait of the renowned artist. Pascin, and bohemian France of the '20s, is truly brought to life in Sfar's skillful hands."--Foreword Reviews

Author Bio

Joann Sfar is considered one of the most important artists of the new wave of Franco-Belgian comics. He is the author and artist on a great number of acclaimed graphic novels including The Rabbi's Cat, Klezmer: Tales of the Wild East, Vampire Loves, and Dungeon. He wrote and directed Gainsbourg: Une Vie Heroique the biopic of the illustrious French songwriter and singer. The film was released in 2010 to international acclaim.