Jean-Claude Floch (born September 25, 1953), known as Floc'h, is a French illustrator,

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

artist, and writer. He is known for his use of the style known as

ligne claire ''Ligne claire'' ( French for "clear line", ; nl, klare lijn) is a style of drawing created and pioneered by Hergé, the Belgian cartoonist and creator of ''The Adventures of Tintin''. It uses clear strong lines sometimes of varied width and n ...

. His older brother Jean-Louis Floch was also a cartoonist and illustrator.

Biography

After a quick study at the ''

École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs The École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ÉnsAD, also known as Arts Decos', École des Arts Décoratifs) is a public grande école of art and design of PSL Research University. The school is located in the Rue d'Ulm in Paris. Profil ...

'' (School of Decorative Arts) in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, he dedicated himself to illustration and comics. His first published comics pages were for the story ''Le Conservateur'', written by Rodolphe, which appeared in ''Imagine'' in 1975. The comics character "Sir Francis Albany" was created for ''

Pilote Cover of the first ''Pilote'' issue #0 ''Pilote'' () was a French comic magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as ''Astérix'', '' ...

'' magazine by Floc'h in 1977, and collaborating with François Rivière, Floc’h published his first collection of comics in 1977, ''Le Rendez-vous de Sevenoaks''. He and Rivière devoted themselves to a narrative and illustration style characterized by

Anglophilia An Anglophile is a person who admires or loves England, its people, its culture, its language, and/or its various accents. Etymology The word is derived from the Latin word ''Anglii'' and Ancient Greek word φίλος ''philos'', meaning "frien ...

; the technique known as

mise en abyme In Western art history, ''mise en abyme'' (; also ''mise en abîme'') is a formal technique of placing a copy of an image within itself, often in a way that suggests an infinitely recurring sequence. In film theory and literary theory, it refers t ...

; as well as a ligne claire drawing style inspired by the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

tradition of comics illustration pioneered by

Hergé Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé (; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian cartoonist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of Tintin'', ...

and Edgar P. Jacobs. Together they would create the series known as ''Une trilogie anglaise'' (An English Trilogy), which debuted in 1977. Floc'h’s fame grew with the publication of ''Le Dossier Harding'' in 1980. Floc'h created commercial illustrations, in which he explored new drawing techniques and developed a personal style based on graphic minimalism such as in ''Le Secret de la Pulmoll verte'' in 1980. In 1991, he collaborated with Jean-Luc Fromental on a collection of cartoons inspired by the work of

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

, ''Jamais deux sans trois''. They also collaborated on the books ''Ma Vie'', ''Life'', ''High Life'' and ''Var, le Département dont vous êtes le Heros''. Floc'h and François Rivière collaborated on the novel ''Les Chroniques d'Oliver Alban, Diary of an Ironist'' (2006), in which they explored the art and literature from two decades: the 1940s and the 1970s. The two wrote the texts, with Floc'h also creating the art for the book. In 2007, Floc'h published a very personal work in the form of his book ''Une vie de rêve: Fragments d’une autobiographie idéale'', in which he lives a long life that extends from 360 BC to May 4, 2046, during the course of which he fulfills various fantasies (for example, he becomes a student of

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

and poses for

Philippe Halsman Philippe Halsman ( lv, Filips Halsmans, german: Philipp Halsmann; 2 May 1906 – 25 June 1979) was an American portrait photographer. He was born in Riga in the part of the Russian Empire which later became Latvia, and died in New York City. Li ...

). Known mainly for cartoons and illustrations, Floc’h has however exhibited his art at various galleries, including the Pixi gallery in Paris and the Nicholas Davies Gallery in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Floc'h has also designed book covers as well as various movie posters, such as for '' Diabolo menthe'' and '' Smoking / No Smoking'', and created illustrations for various newspapers and magazines in France, including '' Lire'', ''Senso'', ''Monsieur'', ''

L'Express ''L'Express'' () is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''Réussir''. History ...

'', ''

Le Nouvel Observateur (), previously known as (1964–2014), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation. Its current editor is Cécil ...

'', ''

Libération ''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France's ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', and ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

''. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, he has created covers and illustrations for '' GQ'' and ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''. A collection of his advertising artwork appeared in 1985 as ''Un Homme dans la Foule''.

Works

Comics

Collections of Comics

* 1977 : ''Le Rendez-vous de Sevenoaks'', with François Rivière (

Dargaud Société Dargaud, doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud (), publishing its first comics in 1943. ...

) * 1980 : ''Le Dossier Harding'', with François Rivière (

) * 1983 : ''Blitz'', with François Rivière (''Le Matin'' /

Albin Michel Albin may refer to: Places * Albin, Wyoming, US * Albin Township, Brown County, Minnesota, US * Albin, Virginia, US People * Albin (given name), origin of the name and people with the first name "Albin" * Albin (surname) ;Mononyms * Albin of ...

) * 1984 : ''À la recherche de Sir Malcolm'', with François Rivière (

) * 1991 : ''Jamais deux sans trois'', with Jean-Luc Fromental (

) * 1992 : ''Une trilogie anglaise'', with François Rivière (

) * 1996 : ''Underground'', with François Rivière (

) * 2005 : ''Olivia Sturgess : 1914-2004'', with François Rivière (

) * 2009 : ''Black Out et autres histoires du Blitz'', with François Rivière (

)

Limited Editions (Tirages de tête)

* 1984 : ''À la recherche de Sir Malcolm'', with François Rivière. * 1985 : ''Un homme dans la foule''. * 1985 : ''Un homme dans la foule''. * 1992 : ''À propos de Francis''. * 2005 : ''Olivia Sturgess : 1914-2004'', with François Rivière.

Illustration

Illustrated books

* 1985 : ''Ma vie'', with Jean-Luc Fromental (

Les Humanoïdes Associés Les Humanoïdes Associés (or simply Humanoïdes) is a France, Franco-United States, American publishing house specializing in comics and graphic novels, founded in December 1974 by comic artists Jean Giraud, Mœbius, Jean-Pierre Dionnet, Philipp ...

) * 1985 : ''Life'', with Jean-Luc Fromental (Carton) * 1986 : ''High Life'', with Jean-Luc Fromental (Carton) * 1986 : ''Banque de France'', collective work. Illustrations recto verso are of two bank notes, one depicting

Raymond Loewy Raymond Loewy ( , ; November 5, 1893 – July 14, 1986) was a French-born American industrial designer who achieved fame for the magnitude of his design efforts across a variety of industries. He was recognized for this by ''Time'' magazi ...

, the other

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

(Carton) * 1994 : ''Meurtre en miniature'', with François Rivière (

) * 1994 : ''Journal d'un New-Yorkais'', with Michel Jourde (

Champaka ''Magnolia champaca'', known in English as champak (), is a large evergreen tree in the family Magnoliaceae.

) * 1997 : ''Ma vie 2'' (

) * 1998 : ''Exposition'', with Michel Jourde (Reporter / Galerie Médicis) * 2007 : ''Une vie de rêve'' (

Robert Laffont The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

)

Film Posters

* 1977 : '' Diabolo menthe'' by

Diane Kurys Diane Kurys (; born 3 December 1948) is a French director, producer, filmmaker and actress. Several of her films as director are semi-autobiographical. Personal life Kurys was born in Lyon, Rhône, France, the younger of two daughters. She is a ...

* 1980 : ''Cocktail Molotov'' by

* 1992 : ''

Smoking/No Smoking ''Smoking/No Smoking'' is a 1993 French comedy film. It was directed by Alain Resnais and written by Agnès Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri, from the play '' Intimate Exchanges'' by Alan Ayckbourn. The film starred Pierre Arditi and Sabine Azéma. I ...

'' by

Alain Resnais Alain Resnais (; 3 June 19221 March 2014) was a French film director and screenwriter whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included ...

* 1997 : ''

On connaît la chanson ''Same Old Song'' (french: On connaît la chanson) is a 1997 French comedy-drama film. It was directed by Alain Resnais, and written by Agnès Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri. Jaoui and Bacri also starred in the film with Sabine Azéma, Lambert Wilso ...

'' by Alain Resnais * 1998 : ''Harry dans tous ses états'' (''

Deconstructing Harry ''Deconstructing Harry'' is a 1997 American black comedy film written, directed by, and co-starring Woody Allen, alongside Caroline Aaron, Kirstie Alley, Bob Balaban, Richard Benjamin, Eric Bogosian, Billy Crystal, Judy Davis and others. The film ...

'') by

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

* 1999 : '' La Bûche'' by

Danièle Thompson Danièle Thompson (born 3 January 1942) is a Monegasque film director and screenwriter. Thompson is the daughter of film director Gérard Oury, and actress Jacqueline Roman. She has written screenplays for a number of highly successful films ...

* 2001 : '' Liberté-Oléron'' by

Bruno Podalydès Bruno Podalydès (born 11 March 1961) is a French writer, film director, producer and actor. His brother Denis Podalydès Denis Podalydès (born 22 April 1963) is a French actor and scriptwriter of Greek descent. Podalydès has appeared in more ...

* 2001 : '' Vertiges by l'amour'' by Laurent Chouchan * 2002 : ''

Hollywood Ending ''Hollywood Ending'' is a 2002 American comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen, who also plays the principal character. It tells the story of a once-famous film director who suffers hysterical blindness due to the intense pressure of d ...

'' by Woody Allen * 2003 : '' Petites coupures'' by

Pascal Bonitzer Pascal Bonitzer (; born 1 February 1946) is a French screenwriter, film director, actor, and former film critic for '' Cahiers du cinéma''. He has written for 48 films and has appeared in 30 films since 1967. He starred in Raúl Ruiz's 1978 fi ...

* 2003 : '' Pas sur la bouche'' by Alain Resnais * 2005 : ''

Melinda and Melinda ''Melinda and Melinda'' is a 2004 American comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. It premiered at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. The film is set in Manhattan and stars Radha Mitchell as the protagonist Melinda, in two s ...

'' by Woody Allen * 2005 : '' L'Anniversaire'' by Diane Kurys * 2008 : '' Le Grand Alibi'' by Pascal Bonitzer

Novels

*2006 : ''Les Chroniques d'Oliver Alban'', with François Rivière (

)

References

External links

Floc’h on Lambiek.net
*
L'homme dans la foule
: blog devoted to Floc'h *

: article concerning collaborations of Floc'h and François Rivière *

: exposition à la Galerie Pixi en 2001 *

: Galerie Pixi exhibition in 2003
The New Yorker
: ''New Yorker'' covers *

: couvertures pour la collection Marginalia (n°1 et 14) *
So British!
: portrait of Floc'h for the magazine '' Bretons (magazine), Bretons'' n°15 (November 2006) *
La Vie rêvée de Floc'h
: portfolio of illustrations for ''Une vie de rêve'' for the magazine '' Bretons (magazine), Bretons'' n°26 (November 2007) *
Entretien audio
accordé par Floc'h �
ExpressBD
*

: movie posters by Floc'h fo
CinEmotions
*
Lire : Le livre de leur enfance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Floch French illustrators French comics artists 1953 births Living people French people of Breton descent