Frans Masereel (31 July 1889 – 3 January 1972) was a
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
painter and graphic artist who worked mainly in France, known especially for his
woodcut
Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
s focused on political and social issues, such as
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
and
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
. He completed over 40 wordless novels in his career, and among these, his greatest is generally said to be ''
Passionate Journey
''Passionate Journey, or My Book of Hours'' (french: Mon livre d'heures), is a wordless novel of 1919 by Flemish artist Frans Masereel. The story is told in 167 captionless prints, and is the longest and best-selling of the wordless novels Ma ...
''.
Masereel's woodcuts influenced
Lynd Ward
Lynd Kendall Ward (June 26, 1905 – June 28, 1985) was an American artist and novelist, known for his series of wordless novels using wood engraving, and his illustrations for juvenile and adult books. His wordless novels have influenced ...
and later graphic artists such as
Clifford Harper
Clifford Harper (born 13 July 1949 in Chiswick, West London) is a worker, illustrator, and militant anarchist. He wrote ''Anarchy: A Graphic Guide'' in 1987. He is a long-term contributor to ''The Guardian'' newspaper and many other publications. ...
,
Eric Drooker, and
Otto Nückel
Otto Nückel (Cologne, 6 September 1888 – Cologne, 12 November 1955) was a German painter, graphic designer, illustrator and cartoonist. He is best known as one of the 20th century's pioneer wordless novelists, along with Frans Masereel and Ly ...
.
Biography
Upbringing
Frans Masereel was born in the Belgian coastal town
Blankenberge
Blankenberge (; french: Blankenberghe; vls, Blanknberge) is a city and a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Blankenberge proper and the settlement of Uitkerke.
On 1 December 2014, Bla ...
on 31 July 1889, and at the age of five, his father died. His mother moved the family to
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
in 1896. She met and married a physician with strong Socialist convictions, and the family together regularly protested against the appalling working conditions of the Ghent textile workers.
Education
At the age of 18 he began to study at the
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...
in the class of
Jean Delvin
Jean-Joseph Delvin (1853 – 1922, born in Ghent) was a Belgian painter who specialized in scenes with animals (primarily horses).
Life
He attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, where he studied under , and worked in the studios of J ...
.
In 1909, he visited England and Germany, which inspired him to make his first
etching
Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...
s and
woodcut
Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
s. In 1911 Masereel settled in Paris for four years and then emigrated to Switzerland, where he worked as a graphic artist for journals and magazines.
Emigre
Masereel could not return to Belgium at the end of World War I because, being a pacifist, he had refused to serve in the Belgian army. Nonetheless, when a circle of friends in Antwerp interested in art and literature decided to found the magazine ''Lumière'', Masereel was one of the artists invited to illustrate the text and the column headings. The magazine was first published in Antwerp in August 1919.
[Joos Florquin, 'Ten huize van... 1']
Davidsfonds, Leuven / Orion - Desclée De Brouwer, Bruges, 971, pp. 270–299 It was an artistic and literary journal published in French. The magazine's title ''Lumière'' was a reference to the French magazine ''Clarté'', which was published in Paris by
Henri Barbusse
Henri Barbusse (; 17 May 1873 – 30 August 1935) was a French novelist and a member of the French Communist Party. He was a lifelong friend of Albert Einstein.
Life
The son of a French father and an English mother, Barbusse was born in Asnièr ...
. The principal artists who illustrated the text and the column headings in addition to Masereel himself were Jan Frans Cantré,
Jozef Cantré
Jozef Cantré (26 December 1890 – 29 August 1957) was a Belgian sculptor and illustrator. He was one of the main artists in the development of the Flemish Expressionism style.
Biography
Jozef Cantré was born in Ghent in 1890, four years after ...
, Henri van Straten, and
Joris Minne
Joris Minne (Ostend, 1897 – Antwerp, 1988) was a Belgian sculptor, graphic artist, illustrator and painter who helped revive the art of engraving in Belgium.[Expressionism
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...]
in early 20th-century Belgium.
[
In 1921 Masereel returned to Paris, where he painted his famous street scenes, the Montmartre paintings. He lived for a time in Berlin, where his closest creative friend was ]George Grosz
George Grosz (; born Georg Ehrenfried Groß; July 26, 1893 – July 6, 1959) was a German artist known especially for his caricatural drawings and paintings of Berlin life in the 1920s. He was a prominent member of the Berlin Dada and New Objec ...
. After 1925 he lived near Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
, where he painted predominantly coast areas, harbour views, and portraits of sailors and fishermen. During the 1930s his output declined. With the Fall of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...
to the Nazis in 1940 he fled from Paris and lived in several cities in Southern France.
Post-World-War II
At the end of World War II Masereel was able to resume his artistic work and produced woodcuts and paintings. After 1946 he taught at the Hochschule der Bildenden Künste Saar
The Hochschule der Bildenden Künste Saar or HBKsaar, (English: ''Saar College of Fine Arts'') is an art and design university in the German State of Saarland.
The degree course offers a choice of different topics: Fine arts, communication desi ...
in Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...
. In 1949 Masereel settled in Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
. Between 1949 and 1968, he published several series of woodcuts that differ from his earlier "novels in picture'" in comprising variations on a subject instead of a narrative. He had also designed decorations and costumes for numerous theatre productions. The artist was honoured in numerous exhibitions and became a member of several academies.
Death
Frans Masereel died in Avignon
Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
in 1972 and was entombed in Ghent.
Legacy
Influence
Masereel's woodcuts influenced Lynd Ward
Lynd Kendall Ward (June 26, 1905 – June 28, 1985) was an American artist and novelist, known for his series of wordless novels using wood engraving, and his illustrations for juvenile and adult books. His wordless novels have influenced ...
and later graphic artists such as George Walker George Walker may refer to:
Arts and letters
* George Walker (chess player) (1803–1879), English chess player and writer
*George Walker (composer) (1922–2018), American composer
* George Walker (illustrator) (1781–1856), author of ''The Co ...
, Clifford Harper, Eric Drooker, and ''New Yorker
New Yorker or ''variant'' primarily refers to:
* A resident of the State of New York
** Demographics of New York (state)
* A resident of New York City
** List of people from New York City
* ''The New Yorker'', a magazine founded in 1925
* ''The New ...
'' cartoonist Peter Arno
Curtis Arnoux Peters, Jr. (January 8, 1904 – February 22, 1968), known professionally as Peter Arno, was an American cartoonist. He contributed cartoons and 101 covers to ''The New Yorker'' from 1925, the magazine's first year, until 1968, the ...
.
Masereel's woodcut series, mainly of sociocritical content and expressionistic
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
in form, made Masereel internationally known. Among them were the wordless novel
The wordless novel is a narrative genre that uses sequences of captionless pictures to tell a story. As artists have often made such books using woodcut and other relief printing techniques, the terms woodcut novel or novel in woodcuts are ...
s ''25 Images of a Man's Passion
''25 Images of a Man's Passion'', or ''The Passion of a Man'' is the first wordless novel by Flemish artist Frans Masereel (1889–1972), first published in 1918 under the French title . The silent story is about a young working-class man wh ...
'' (1918), ''Passionate Journey
''Passionate Journey, or My Book of Hours'' (french: Mon livre d'heures), is a wordless novel of 1919 by Flemish artist Frans Masereel. The story is told in 167 captionless prints, and is the longest and best-selling of the wordless novels Ma ...
'' (1919), '' The Sun'' (1919), '' The Idea'' (1920), '' Story Without Words'' (1920), and '' Landscapes and Voices'' (1929). At that time Masereel also drew illustrations for famous works of world literature by Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...
, Émile Zola
Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...
, and Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig (; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist, and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular write ...
. He also produced a series of illustrations for the classic '' Legend of Thyl Ulenspiegel and Lamme Goedzak'' by his fellow Belgian Charles De Coster
Charles-Theodore-Henri De Coster (20 August 1827 – 7 May 1879) was a Belgian novelist whose efforts laid the basis for a native Belgian literature.
Early life and education
He was born in Munich; his father, Augustin De Coster, was a nati ...
; these illustrations followed the book in its translations to numerous languages.
Namesakes
The cultural organization Masereelfonds The Masereelfonds, named after Frans Masereel, is a Flemish non-profit cultural organization, for the promotion and support of the Dutch language in Flanders (northern Belgium). It is one of a family of five cultural organizations in Flanders, such ...
was named after him, as was the Frans Masereel Centre studio facility at Kasterlee
Kasterlee () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Kasterlee proper, Lichtaart and Tielen. In 2021, Kasterlee had a total population of 19,052. The total area is 71.56 km2. The ...
.
List of works
Graphic novels
Woodcut graphic novels
These woodcut collections form entire, seamless graphic novels
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
with their own, independent narrative.
*''25 Images of a Man's Passion
''25 Images of a Man's Passion'', or ''The Passion of a Man'' is the first wordless novel by Flemish artist Frans Masereel (1889–1972), first published in 1918 under the French title . The silent story is about a young working-class man wh ...
'' / ''The Passion of a Man'' (''25 Images de la Passion d'un Homme'' / ''Die Passion Eines Menschen'', 1918)
*''Passionate Journey
''Passionate Journey, or My Book of Hours'' (french: Mon livre d'heures), is a wordless novel of 1919 by Flemish artist Frans Masereel. The story is told in 167 captionless prints, and is the longest and best-selling of the wordless novels Ma ...
'' / ''My Book of Hours'' (''Mon Livre d'Heures'' / ''Mein Stundenbuch'', 1919)
Archive.org
*'' The Sun'' (''Le Soleil'' / ''Die Sonne'', 1919)
*''Political Drawings'' (''Dessins Politiques'' / ''Politische Zeichnungen'', 1920)
Archive.org
*'' Story Without Words'' (''Histoire Sans Paroles'' / ''Geschichte ohne Worte'', 1920)
*'' The Idea'' (''L'Idée'' / ''Die Idee'', 1920)
*'' The City'' (''La Ville'' / ''Die Stadt'', 1925)
Archive.org
*''The Industrial Baron'' (''Die Industriebaron'', 1925)
*''Figures and Grimaces'' (''Figures et Grimaces'' / ''Gesichter und Fratzen'', 1926)
*''The Work'' (''L’œuvre'', ''Das Werk'', 1928)
*''Landscapes and Voices'' (''Landschaften und Stimmungen'', 1929)
Archive.org
*''The Mermaid'' (''La Sirène'', 1932)
*''From Black to White'' (''Du Noir au Blanc'' / ''Von Schwarz zu Weiss'', 1939)
*''Dance of Death'' (''Danse Macabre'', 1941)
*''June '40'' (''Juin 40'', 1942)
*''Destinies 1939-1940-1941-1942'' (''Destins 1939-1940-1941-1942'', 1943)
*''Earth under the sign of Saturn'' (''La Terre sous le signe de Saturne'', 1944)
*''Remember!'' (1946)
*''Angel'' (''Engel'', 1947)
*''Phenomena'' (''Erscheinungen'', 1947)
*''Ages of life'' (''Les Âges de la Vie'', 1948)
*''Youth'' (''Jeunesse'', 1948)
*''Ecce Homo'' (1949)
*''Key to Dreams'' (''Clef des songes'', 1950)
*''Our Times'' (''Notre Temps'', 1952)
*''The apocalypse of our time'' (''Die Apokalypse unserer Zeit'', 1953)
*''Why?'' (''Pour quoi?'', 1954)
*''My book of images'' (''Mon livre d'images'', 1956)
*''My country'' (''Mon Pais'', 1956)
*''Night Adventure'' (''Aventure nocturne'', 1958)
*''Night and his Daughters'' (''La Nuit et ses Filles'', 1959)
*''China Memories'' (''Erinnerungen an China'', 1961)
*''Stations'' (''É'talges'', 1961)
*''From Decay to Triumph'' (''Vom Verfall zum Triumph'', 1961)
*''Poets'' (''Poètes'', 1963)
*''The face of Hamburg'' (''Das Gesicht Hamburgs'' / ''Le visage de Hambourg'', 1964)
*''The road of men'' (''Der weg der menschen'', ''Route des hommes'', 1964)
*''Couples'' (1965)
*''My home'' (''Meine Heimat'', 1965)
*''Antwerp'' (''Antwerpen'', 1968)
*''Hands'' (''Mains'', 1968)
*''Vice and passion'' (''Laster und Leidenschaft'', 1968)
*''I love black and white'' (''Ik houd van zwart en wit'', 1970)
*''Pictures against the war'' (''Bilder gegen den Krieg'', 1981)
*''Woodcuts against the war'' (''Holzschnitte gegen den Krieg'', 1989)
Brush and ink graphic novels
*''Grotesque Film'' (''Groteskfilm'', 1921)
*''Pictures of the Big City'' (''Bilder der Grossstadt'' / ''Images de la grande ville'', 1926)
*''Capital'' (''Capitale'', 1935)
*''Wrath'' (''La Colère'', 1946)
Illustrator
*''The Days of the Curse'' (''Die Tage des Fluches''), by Marcel Martinet Marcel Martinet (Dijon, 22 August 1887 – Saumur, 18 February 1944) was a French pacifist socialist revolutionary militant and a Proletarian literature, prolétarian writer.
Life
Martinet, a Communist and pacifist, opposed the First World War from ...
(1914-1916)
*''Hôtel-Dieu, Récits d'Hôpital'' (Hôtel-Dieu, Hospital Stories) by Pierre Jean Jouve
Pierre Jean Jouve (11 October 1887 – 8 January 1976) was a French writer, novelist and poet.Michael Sheringham, 'Jouve, Pierre-Jean', ''Oxford Companion to French Literature''Onlineat answers.com He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literat ...
(1915)
*''Quinze Poemes'' (Fifteen Poems) by Émile Verhaeren
Émile Adolphe Gustave Verhaeren (; 21 May 1855 – 27 November 1916) was a Belgian poet and art critic who wrote in the French language. He was one of the founders of the school of Symbolism and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Litera ...
(1917)
*''Pierre und Luce'' (''Pierre and Luce''; sometimes translated as ''Peter and Luce'') by Romain Rolland
Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...
(1918)
*'' Calamus: Poèmes'' (''Calamus: Poems'', a section from Leaves of Grass
''Leaves of Grass'' is a poetry collection by American poet Walt Whitman. Though it was first published in 1855, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing and rewriting ''Leaves of Grass'', revising it multiple times until his death. Th ...
), by Walt Whitman
Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...
(1919)
*''Die Mutter'' (The Mother) by Leonhard Frank
Leonhard Frank (4 September 1882 in Würzburg – 18 August 1961 in Munich) was a German expressionist writer. He studied painting and graphic art in Munich, and gained acclaim with his first novel ''The Robber Band'' (1914, tr. 1928). When a Ber ...
(1919)
*''Heures'' (''Hours'') by Pierre Jean Jouve
Pierre Jean Jouve (11 October 1887 – 8 January 1976) was a French writer, novelist and poet.Michael Sheringham, 'Jouve, Pierre-Jean', ''Oxford Companion to French Literature''Onlineat answers.com He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literat ...
(1919)
*''Bübü vom Montparnasse'' (Bubu of Montparnasse) by Charles-Louis Philippe
Charles-Louis Philippe (4 August 1874 – 21 December 1909) French novelist, was born in Cérilly, Allier, Auvergne, on 4 August 1874, and died in Paris on 21 December 1909.
Life
Son of a village clogmaker, Charles-Louis Philippe rose from ...
(1920)
Archive.org
*''Das Gemeinsame'' (''The Common'') by René Arcos (1920)
*''Les Poètes contre la Guerre'' (''The Poets Against War'') by Romain Rolland
Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...
, Georges Duhamel
Georges Duhamel (; ; 30 June 1884 – 13 April 1966) was a French author, born in Paris. Duhamel trained as a doctor, and during World War I was attached to the French Army. In 1920, he published '' Confession de minuit'', the first of a serie ...
, Charles Vildrac
Charles Vildrac (November 22, 1882 – June 25, 1971), born "Charles Messager",''1971 Britannica Book of the Year'' (for events of 1971), "Obituaries 1971" article, page 532, "Vildrac, Charles" item was a French libertarian playwright, poet a ...
and Pierre Jean Jouve
Pierre Jean Jouve (11 October 1887 – 8 January 1976) was a French writer, novelist and poet.Michael Sheringham, 'Jouve, Pierre-Jean', ''Oxford Companion to French Literature''Onlineat answers.com He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literat ...
(1920)
*''The Eternal Jew'' (''Der Ewige Jude'', 1921)
Archive.org
by August Vermeylen
August Vermeylen (12 May 1872, in Brussels – 10 January 1945, in Uccle) was a Belgian writer and literature critic. In 1893 he founded the literary journal ''Van Nu en Straks'' (''Of Today and Tomorrow''). He studied history at the Free Univers ...
*''Le Travailleur étrange et autres récits'' (''The Strange Worker and Other Stories'') by Émile Verhaeren
Émile Adolphe Gustave Verhaeren (; 21 May 1855 – 27 November 1916) was a Belgian poet and art critic who wrote in the French language. He was one of the founders of the school of Symbolism and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Litera ...
(1921)
*''Peter und Lutz'' (''Peter and Lutz'') by Romain Rolland
Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...
(1921)
Archive.org
*''La révolte des machines, ou la Pensée Déchainée'' (''The Revolt of Machines or the Mind Unbound'', republished in 1947 as in Dutch as ''De opstand der machines, of Het losgebroken intellect'') by Romain Rolland
Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...
(1921)
Archive.org
*''Quelque Coins du Coeur'' by Henri Barbusse
Henri Barbusse (; 17 May 1873 – 30 August 1935) was a French novelist and a member of the French Communist Party. He was a lifelong friend of Albert Einstein.
Life
The son of a French father and an English mother, Barbusse was born in Asnièr ...
(1921)
*''The good Madeleine and the poor Marie'' (''Die gute Madeleine und die arme Marie''), by Charles-Louis Philippe
Charles-Louis Philippe (4 August 1874 – 21 December 1909) French novelist, was born in Cérilly, Allier, Auvergne, on 4 August 1874, and died in Paris on 21 December 1909.
Life
Son of a village clogmaker, Charles-Louis Philippe rose from ...
(1922)
*''Fairfax'' by Carl Sternheim
Carl Sternheim (born William Adolph Carl Francke; 1 April 1878 – 3 November 1942) was a German playwright and short story writer. One of the major exponents of German Expressionism, he especially satirized the moral sensibilities of the emergi ...
(1922)
*''Cygne de Rabindranath Tagore'' (''Swan of Rabindranath Tagore'') by Kâlidâs Nâg and Pierre Jean Jouve
Pierre Jean Jouve (11 October 1887 – 8 January 1976) was a French writer, novelist and poet.Michael Sheringham, 'Jouve, Pierre-Jean', ''Oxford Companion to French Literature''Onlineat answers.com He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literat ...
(1923)
*''Fünf Erzählungen'' (''Five Tales'') by Émile Verhaeren
Émile Adolphe Gustave Verhaeren (; 21 May 1855 – 27 November 1916) was a Belgian poet and art critic who wrote in the French language. He was one of the founders of the school of Symbolism and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Litera ...
(1924)
Archive.org
*''Liluli'' by Romain Rolland
Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...
(1924)
*''Prière'' (''Pray'') by Pierre Jean Jouve
Pierre Jean Jouve (11 October 1887 – 8 January 1976) was a French writer, novelist and poet.Michael Sheringham, 'Jouve, Pierre-Jean', ''Oxford Companion to French Literature''Onlineat answers.com He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literat ...
(1924)
*''Jean-Christophe'' (''Johann Christof'') by Romain Rolland
Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...
(1925)
*''Thyl Ulenspiegel'' by Charles de Coster
Charles-Theodore-Henri De Coster (20 August 1827 – 7 May 1879) was a Belgian novelist whose efforts laid the basis for a native Belgian literature.
Early life and education
He was born in Munich; his father, Augustin De Coster, was a nati ...
(1926)
*''Kerstwake'' by Stijn Streuvels
Stijn Streuvels (3 October 1871, Heule, Kortrijk - 15 August 1969, Ingooigem, Anzegem), born Franciscus (Frank) Petrus Maria Lateur, was a Flemish Belgian writer.
Biography
He started writing at a very young age. He was inspired by his uncle, th ...
(1928)
*''Swane'' (''Swans'') by Emmanuel De Bom (1928)
*''Der Zwang. Phantastische Nacht'' (''The Force. Fantastic night'') by Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig (; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist, and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular write ...
(1929)
*''Im Strom der Zeit: Gedichte'' (''In the Stream of Time: Poems'') by Ernst Preczang (1929)
*''Das Bein der Tiennette und andere Erzählungen'' (''Tiennette's leg and other stories'') by Charles-Louis Philippe
Charles-Louis Philippe (4 August 1874 – 21 December 1909) French novelist, was born in Cérilly, Allier, Auvergne, on 4 August 1874, and died in Paris on 21 December 1909.
Life
Son of a village clogmaker, Charles-Louis Philippe rose from ...
(1929)
*''De man zonder lijf'' (''The Man Without a Body'') by Herman Teirlinck
Herman Louis Cesar Teirlinck (Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, 24 February 1879 – Beersel-Lot, 4 February 1967) was a Belgian writer. He was the fifth child and only son of Isidoor Teirlinck and Oda van Nieuwenhove, who were both teachers in Brussels. As a ...
(1937)
*''Ode a la France Meurtrie'' (''Ode to the Dead France'') by Louis Piérard (1940)
*''Jugement'' (''Judgment'') by Agrippa d'Aubigné
Théodore-Agrippa d'Aubigné (, 8 February 155229 April 1630) was a French poet, soldier, propagandist and chronicler. His epic poem ''Les Tragiques'' (1616) is widely regarded as his masterpiece. In a book about his Catholic contemporary Jean ...
(1941)
*''La légende d’Ulenspiegel'' (''The Glorious Adventures of Tyl Ulenspiegl'') by Charles de Coster
Charles-Theodore-Henri De Coster (20 August 1827 – 7 May 1879) was a Belgian novelist whose efforts laid the basis for a native Belgian literature.
Early life and education
He was born in Munich; his father, Augustin De Coster, was a nati ...
(1943)
*''Die Nacht'' (''The Night'') by Rudolf Hagelstange (1955)
*''Vater Perdrix'' by Charles-Louis Philippe
Charles-Louis Philippe (4 August 1874 – 21 December 1909) French novelist, was born in Cérilly, Allier, Auvergne, on 4 August 1874, and died in Paris on 21 December 1909.
Life
Son of a village clogmaker, Charles-Louis Philippe rose from ...
(1960)
*''Du bist für alle Zeit geliebt. Gedichte'' (''You're Loved Forever. Poems'') by Johannes R. Becher
Johannes Robert Becher (, 22 May 1891 – 11 October 1958) was a German politician, novelist, and poet. He was affiliated with the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) before World War II. At one time, he was part of the literary avant-garde, writin ...
(1960)
*''Vom Verfall zum Triumph'' (''From Decline to Triumph'') by Johannes R. Becher
Johannes Robert Becher (, 22 May 1891 – 11 October 1958) was a German politician, novelist, and poet. He was affiliated with the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) before World War II. At one time, he was part of the literary avant-garde, writin ...
(1961)
*''Moriae Encomium: Or The Praise Of Folly'' by Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...
(1965)
*''Dolle Dinsdag'' (''Crazy Tuesday'') by Theun de Vries
Theunis Uilke (Theun) de Vries (26 April 1907 – 21 January 2005), was a Dutch writer and poet.
Life
De Vries was born in the Frisian town of Feanwâlden. His parents moved to Apeldoorn in 1920. In 1936 he joined the Communist Party of the N ...
(1967)
*''Fleurs du mal
''Les Fleurs du mal'' (; en, The Flowers of Evil, italic=yes) is a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire.
''Les Fleurs du mal'' includes nearly all Baudelaire's poetry, written from 1840 until his death in August 1867. First publish ...
'' (''The Flowers of Evil'') by Charles Baudelaire
Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...
(1977)
*''The Ballad of Reading Gaol
''The Ballad of Reading Gaol'' is a poem by Oscar Wilde, written in exile in Berneval-le-Grand, after his release from Reading Gaol () on 19 May 1897. Wilde had been incarcerated in Reading after being convicted of gross indecency with other m ...
'' by Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
(1978)
Animation
* ''The Idea'' (''L'Idée'') (1932) : collaboration with Berthold Bartosch
Berthold Bartosch (29 December 1893 – 13 November 1968) was a film-maker, born in Polaun, in the Bohemia region of Austria-Hungary (now part of the Czech Republic).
Work with Lotte Reiniger
He moved to Berlin in 1920 and collaborated with Lott ...
on an animated adaptation.
Works published in journals
* Woodcuts in ''Demain'' (1916) and ''Les Tablettes'' (1916-1919).
* Drawings in ''La Feuille'' (1917-1920).
Art collections
These woodcut collections cover various aspects of their subject material.
Solo collections
*''Arise Ye Dead: The Infernal Resurrection'' (''Debout les Morts: Résurrection infernale'', 1917) -- A collection of 10, anti-war woodcuts.
*''The Dead Speak'' (''Les Morts Parlent'', 1917) -- A collection of 7, anti-war woodcuts.
Mixed collections
*''1925: An Almanac for Art and Poetry'' (''1925: Ein Almanach für Kunst und Dichtung''), published by Kurt Wolff Verlag
References
Peter Arno: The Mad, Mad World of The New Yorker's Greatest Cartoonist. Michael Maslin. Regan Arts, New York. 2016
Further reading
* Davide Di Maio: I romanzi per immagini di Masereel, in "Wuz", n. 1, gennaio-febbraio 2005, pp. 34–43.
*
External links
Frans Masereel Foundation site
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080705203321/http://www.nebulous-cargo.com/masereel/ Nebulous Cargo - an observant walk through modern ruinsbr>Frans Masereel Centre, Artist in Residence - Belgium
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masereel, Frans
1889 births
1972 deaths
Belgian painters
Belgian printmakers
Belgian graphic novelists
20th-century engravers
Flemish engravers
Modern painters
Modern printmakers
20th-century novelists
Belgian woodcarvers
Belgian wood engravers
Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Ghent) alumni
Academic staff of the Hochschule der Bildenden Künste Saar
Writers from Ghent
Belgian pacifists