Philippe Vallancien (3 September 1938 – 11 April 2022), known professionally as Calvi, was a French cartoonist, caricaturist, and illustrator.

Biography

After earning his ''

baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

'' and attending law school for one year, Vallancien entered the

École supérieure de journalisme de Paris The École supérieure de journalisme (ESJ Paris; in English: ''Superior School of Journalism of Paris'') is an institution of higher education in Paris dedicated to journalism and related studies. Its origin was in the ''Collège Libre des Science ...

. He began drawing for ''Combat'' in 1959, then for ''Aux écoutes'', ''Charivari'', ''Rire'', and ''

Télérama ''Télérama'' is a weekly French cultural and television magazine published in Paris, France. The name is a contraction of its earlier title: ''Télévision-Radio-Cinéma''. Fabienne Pascaud is currently managing editor. Ludovic Desautez is dep ...

''. He served in the

French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. Franc ...

from 1961 to 1963 and subsequently returned to illustrating for the same newspapers. He joined ''

Le Journal du Dimanche ''Le Journal du dimanche'' (English: ''Sunday's newspaper'') is a French weekly newspaper published on Sundays in France. History and profile ''Le Journal du Dimanche'' was created by Pierre Lazareff in 1948. He was managing editor of ''France ...

'' in 1967 and later ''

France-Soir ''France Soir'' ( en, France Evening) was a French newspaper that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a popul ...

'', directed by

Pierre Lazareff Pierre Lazareff (1907–1972) was a French newspaper editor and publisher. He was the son of a Russian Jewish emigrant, David Lazareff, and an Alsatian Jew, Marthe Helft. He was passionate about newspapers from his childhood, even running a fam ...

. He also drew for the program ''Le Luron du Dimanche'', hosted by

Thierry Le Luron Thierry Le Luron (; 2 April 1952 – 13 November 1986) was a French impressionist (entertainment), impressionist and humorist. Early life Born in Paris, France, to Francis Le Luron (1926-2012), and Huguette Gousserey (1922-2009). Debut In 1 ...

and Étienne Mougeotte. Calvi left ''France-Soir'' in 1972 and began collaborating with ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' under the leadership of André Fontaine. His works were published in multiple other newspapers, such as ''

Le Dauphiné libéré ''Le Dauphiné libéré'' is a provincial daily French newspaper known for its emphasis on local news and events. The paper is published in Grenoble, France. History and profile Founded in 1945, it takes the name from the former province of Da ...

'', ''

Midi Libre ''Midi Libre'' () is a French daily newspaper in Montpellier that covers general news. It began publication in 1944. Since 1949, the newspaper has organised a cycling stage race, the Grand Prix du Midi Libre. References External links Web ...

'', ''

L'Est Républicain ''L'Est Républicain'' is a daily regional French newspaper based in Nancy, France. ''L'Est Républicain'' was established in 1889 by Léon Goulette, a French Republican. The newspaper was founded on the grounds of ''anti- Boulangisme''. It wa ...

'', ''

Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace ''Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace'', commonly known as ''DNA'', is a regional daily French newspaper covering the Alsace region. History and profile ''DNA'' was created in November 1877 as ''Neueste Nachrichten'' by German Heinrich Ludwig Kays ...

'', ''

Nice-Matin ''Nice-Matin'' ( French for "Nice-Morning") is a regional daily French newspaper. The paper covers Nice and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in south-eastern France. History and profile ''Nice-Matin'' was created in 1944. The paper was joi ...

'', '' Sud Ouest'', and ''

La Dépêche du Midi ''La Dépêche'', formally ''La Dépêche du Midi'', is a regional daily newspaper published in Toulouse in Southwestern France with seventeen editions for different areas of the Midi-Pyrénées region. The main local editions are for Toulouse, ...

''. At the same time, he was called by ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...

'' to illustrate on political pages, and continued to do so for 21 years. In 1981,

Louis Pauwels Louis Pauwels (; 2 August 1920 – 28 January 1997) was a French journalist and writer. Born in Paris, France, he wrote in many monthly literary French magazines as early as 1946 (including ''Esprit'' and ''Variété'') until the 1950s. He partic ...

called on him to collaborate with ''

Le Figaro Magazine ''Le Figaro Magazine'' is a French language weekly news magazine published in Paris, France. The magazine is the weekly supplement of the daily newspaper ''Le Figaro''. History and profile The magazine is the first supplement of ''Le Figaro'' n ...

''. He then began to paint, assisted by his wife, Françoise. For ''Le Figaro Magazine'' Calvi illustrated the column of

Philippe Bouvard Philippe Bouvard (; born 6 December 1929 in Coulommiers) is a French television and radio presenter. From 1977 to 2014 he hosted the French radio program ''Les Grosses Têtes'' on Radio Luxemburg RTL, from 1982 to 1986 he hosted the television ...

. He also illustrated the editorial column of '' Valeurs actuelles'' until 2005. Calvi died on 11 April 2022 at the age of 83.

Bibliography

*''Ah quelle année'' (1969) *''Le Temps des crises'' (1975) *''La France S.O.S.ialiste'' (1983) *''L’Addition'' (1985) *''Monsieur MITTERRAC'' (1986) *''La Foire du trône'' (1988) *''Les Carnets secrets de Marianne'' (1988) *''Don Mitterrone, le Parrain'' (1988) *''Le Code de la route'' (1992) *''L’Histoire de France de Clovis à Chirac'' (1996) *''Tout baigne'' (1998) *''La Sarko-attitude'' (2008) *''L’Histoire de France de Clovis à Nicolas Ier'' (2008)

References

{{Authority control 1938 births 2022 deaths French editorial cartoonists French caricaturists French illustrators Lycée Janson-de-Sailly alumni Artists from Besançon