![Portet Jan Bosschaert](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Portet_Jan_Bosschaert.jpg)
Jan Bosschaert (born 15 December 1957) is a
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 ...
comics artist, painter and illustrator, best known for the comic series ''Sam'' and ''
Jaguar'', and his illustrations for the books of
Marc De Bel.
Biography
Jan Bosschaert was born in
Borgerhout
Borgerhout () is the smallest district of Antwerp, Belgium. , the district houses 45,769 inhabitants on 3,93 km².
It was an independent municipality until January 1983. The postal area code for Borgerhout is 2140. Geography
Borgerhout is divided ...
in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
in 1957.
[De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Jan Bosschaert". In België gestript, pp. 93–95. Tielt: Lannoo.] He was raised in
Wijnegem
Wijnegem () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Wijnegem proper. Wijnegem is one of the most expensive municipalities of the Flanders. In 2021, Wijnegem had a total population ...
, close to the forest, in a house with a large garden.
[Onraedt, Lieven (1996). "De grote Vlaamse tekenaars 5: Jan Bosschaert". Comic Events.] He spend most of his free time drawing. He made his first comic when he was about 10, and continued in the next years with comics in different genres, ranging from
Sherlock Holmes stories to his own version of ''
Lucky Luke
''Lucky Luke'' is a Western '' bande dessinée'' series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborating with French writer René Goscinny. Their ...
''. One of his comics, about two senior scouts, he shows to established comics creator
Eddy Ryssack
Eddie or Eddy may refer to:
Science and technology
*Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle
*Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Linu ...
, whose main advice is to make sure everything is well documented. He also loved the work of
André Franquin
André Franquin (; 3 January 1924 – 5 January 1997) was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best-known creations are '' Gaston'' and ''Marsupilami''. He also produced the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' comic strip from 1946 to 1968, a period s ...
which he discovered at the age of 14 at a comics fair in Brussels.
[
His puberty was a rather unhappy period, where Bosschaert withdrew into his own world and into music. He listened to artists like ]Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...
or Jackson Browne, but kept on drawing. When he was 18 years old, he visited comics author Pom. Seeing the poverty the author lives in is quite a shock, but it didn't stop him of becoming an artist himself.[
When he studied at the Sint-Lukasinstituut, the Art Academy of Brussels, he discovered the work of illustrator ]Ever Meulen
Ever Meulen (born Eddy Vermeulen; 12 February 1946 in Kuurne, Belgium[Arzach
''Arzach'' () is a comic book collection of four wordless short stories by artist/author Jean 'Moebius' Giraud, which were originally published in the French sci-fi/fantasy comics magazine '' Métal Hurlant''. The stories follow Arzach, a silent ...]
'', the textless comic by Moebius. Influences outside the world of comics came from the dominant styles of his youth, punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
and new wave music
New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. La ...
.[
Bosschaert published his first work in (]À Suivre
''À Suivre'' or ''A SUIVRE'' (English translation: "To Be Continued") was a Franco-Belgian comics magazine published from February 1978 to December 1997 by the Casterman publishing house. Along with the comic book magazines ''Spirou (magazine), ...
), and produced his first published comic album in 1982 with ''Ikarus'', but his breakthrough was the political-satirical comic strip ''Pest in 't Paleis'' (''Pest in the Palace''), which appeared in ''HUMO
''HUMO'' is a popular Dutch-language Belgian weekly radio and television supermarket tabloid.
History and profile
''Humoradio'' (meaning a portmanteau of 'humor' and 'radio' in English) was first published in 1936 as a Dutch-language counterpa ...
'' in 1983. But Bosschaert quit making comics and worked for the rest of the decade primarily as an illustrator for different magazines, including ''Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
'', and authors like Hugo Claus
Hugo Maurice Julien Claus (; 5 April 1929 – 19 March 2008) was a leading Belgian literature, Belgian author who published under his own name as well as various pseudonyms. Claus' literary contributions spanned the genres of drama, the novel, a ...
. His main illustrative work appeared first in publications of the Flemish television network VRT, and later in publications of publisher Altiora and popular children's book author Marc De Bel, whom he considers as a kindred spirit and an older brother.[
He also continued to make paintings, mainly female nudes and erotic works. Bosschaert is a purely figurative painter, who prefers clarity over concepts.][
His first longer running comic series started in 1990, with stories by ]Marc Legendre
Marc Legendre (born 15 April 1956 in Antwerp) is a Bronzen Adhemar-winning Flemish cartoonist and scriptwriter. He is best known for ''Biebel
Biebel is the title character of a Flemish satirical comic strip series written by Marc Legendre, under ...
. ''Sam'' tells the adventures of an adolescent girl working in a small garage. The series came to a halt after 8 albums though, and translations were unsuccessful. While Bosschaert tried to limit his purely commercial work to a few jobs a year, he made an exception for people he feels connected to. He created ''King Kong Kooks'' as a catalogue annex comic for fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck
Walter Van Beirendonck (born 4 February 1957 in Brecht, Belgium) is a Belgian fashion designer. He is the head of the Fashion Department at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp.
He graduated in 1980 from the Royal Arts Academy in Antwerp. ...
.[
More international recognition followed from 2001 on, when he collaborated with comics author Jean Dufaux on '' Jaguar'', a ]fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
series published by Casterman
Casterman is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics, specializing in comic books and children's literature. The company is based in Brussels, Belgium.
History
The company was founded in 1780 by Donat-Joseph Casterman, an editor and bookseller ...
and translated in French and Spanish. Local success in Flanders came when he collaborates with comedian Urbanus
Urbain Servranckx (born 7 June 1949), better known as Urbanus, is a Belgian comedian, actor, singer and comic book writer. Although he is most famous as comedian, some of his songs became hits, such as ''Bakske vol met stro'' (1979), ''Madammen ...
on ''De Geverniste Vernepelingskes'', a series which parodies famous Belgians, including the two authors.[
Bosschaert illustrated album covers for musical artists like The Paranoiacs, Pitti Polak, ]Plastic Bertrand
Roger François Jouret (born 24 February 1954), better known as Plastic Bertrand, is a Belgian musician, songwriter, producer, editor and television presenter, best known for the 1977 international hit single " Ça plane pour moi".
Biography ...
and Jan De Wilde
Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to:
Acronyms
* Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN
* Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code
* Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group
* Japanese Article Numb ...
.
Bibliography
This bibliography contains only his comics, a list of his illustrations is not included.
Awards
* 1983: Provinciale Prijs voor de Schilderkunst (Provincial Award for Painting) of the province of Antwerp, Belgium
* 1991: Bronzen Adhemar
The ''Bronzen Adhemar'' (Dutch for "Brass Adhemar") is the official Flemish Community Cultural Prize for Comics, given to a Flemish comics author for his body of work. It is awarded by the Flemish Ministry of Culture during Strip Turnhout, the maj ...
, Turnhout
Turnhout () is a Belgian municipality and city located in the Flemish province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. In 2021, Turnhout had a total population of 45,874. The total area is . The agglomeration, ho ...
, Belgium
* 2003: Best Author (Dutch language) at the Prix Saint-Michel
The Prix Saint-Michel is a series of comic awards presented by the city of Brussels, with a focus on Franco-Belgian comics. They were first awarded in 1971, and although often said to be the oldest European comics awards, they are actually the s ...
, Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Belgium
Notes
External links
Homepage
(French and Dutch)
(Dutch)
(Dutch)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosschaert, Jan
1957 births
Living people
People from Borgerhout
Belgian comics artists
Belgian painters
Belgian illustrators
Belgian children's book illustrators
Belgian caricaturists
Album-cover and concert-poster artists