Émile-Joseph Porphyre Pinchon (Amiens, 17 April 1871 - Paris, 20 June 1953) was a French painter, illustrator, designer and comic book creator, best known for his series ''

Bécassine ''Bécassine'' is a French comic strip and the name of its heroine, appearing for the first time in the first issue of ''La Semaine de Suzette'' on February 2, 1905. She is considered one of the first female protagonists in the history of French ...

''.

Biography

Joseph Pinchon, born in Amiens in 1871, first studied painting with

Fernand Cormon Fernand Cormon (24 December 1845 – 20 March 1924) was a French painter born in Paris. He became a pupil of Alexandre Cabanel, Eugène Fromentin, and Jean-François Portaels, and one of the leading historical painters of modern France. Biograph ...

. His brother Emile Pinchon (1872-1933) was a sculptor. Joseph worked mainly as an

animalier An animalier (, ) is an artist, mainly from the 19th century, who specializes in, or is known for, skill in the realistic portrayal of animals. "Animal painter" is the more general term for earlier artists. Although the work may be in any genre ...

, painting hunting scenes. He was vice-president of the painting section of the

Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA; ; en, National Society of Fine Arts) was the term under which two groups of French artists united, the first for some exhibitions in the early 1860s, the second since 1890 for annual exhibitions. 1862 Es ...

, which he had joined in 1899; they awarded him their Grand prix in 1928, and in 1948 their Puvis de Chavannes prize. As an illustrator he contributed to many books, including an 1899 edition of ''L'Arbre'' by

Georges Rodenbach Georges Raymond Constantin Rodenbach (16 July 1855 – 25 December 1898) was a Belgian Symbolist poet and novelist. Biography Georges Rodenbach was born in Tournai to a French mother and a German father from the Rhineland (Andernach). He was ...

, and a 1947 edition of ''La Grande Meute'' by Paul Vialar. From 1926 to 1929, he also provided satirical illustrations to ''

L'Écho de Paris ''L'Écho de Paris'' was a daily newspaper in Paris from 1884 to 1944. The paper's editorial stance was initially conservative and nationalistic, but it later became close to the French Social Party. Its writers included Octave Mirbeau, Henri de ...

''. From 1908 until 1914 he worked as the costume designer for the

Opéra Garnier The Palais Garnier (, Garnier Palace), also known as Opéra Garnier (, Garnier Opera), is a 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from ...

, the main location of the Paris Opera. In 1916 he joined the army as an infantryman. After the first world war, he also directed two movies, ''Mektoub'', set in Marocco in 1919, and ''Mon Village'' in 1920. But his main body of work are his comics and illustrations made for many French youth magazines. This started in 1903 in ''Saint-Nicolas'', where he illustrated ''L'Automobile enchantée'', written by

Henry Gauthier-Villars Henry Gauthier-Villars (8 August 1859 – 12 January 1931), known by the pen name Willy , was a French ''fin de siècle'' writer and music critic who is today mostly known as the mentor and first husband of Colette. Other pseudonyms used by Gauth ...

. His biggest success came in 1905, when he illustrated the first story about Bécassine, created by

Jacqueline Rivière Jacqueline Rivière (1851-1920) was a pseudonym of a French writer, newspaper editor-in-chief and creator of the successful comic strip ''Bécassine''. Born Jeanne Josephine Spallarossa, 8 May 1851 in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France, she signed her f ...

, about a young Breton girl, in the form of text comics (comic strips with the text beneath the drawings instead of in balloons). From 1913 on, the adventures of Bécassine were collected in 24 albums. Bécassine is considered to be the first female comic heroine.

Bibliography

*1905-1950: ''

'', written by Maurice Languereau and later

Madeleine Harfaux Madeleine may refer to: Common meanings *Madeleine (name), also Madeline, a feminine given name *Madeleine (cake), a traditional sweet cake from France *Mary Magdalene, also called the Madeleine Arts and entertainment * ''Madelein'' (1919 fi ...

, first published in ''

La Semaine de Suzette ''La Semaine de Suzette'' was a French magazine aimed at girls, which appeared from 1905 until 1960. It contained early comics like '' Bécassine''. History ''La Semaine de Suzette'' (''Suzette's Week'') started in 1905 as a magazine aimed at c ...

'' and then collected in 24 albums, plus two derivative books in 1921 and 1927. *1920-1939: ''Frimousset'', written by

Jean Nohain Jean Nohain (1900–1981) was a French playwright, lyricist, and screenwriter, and a radio and television producer and presenter. He was the son of the librettist Franc-Nohain and the brother of the actor Claude Dauphin.Oscherwitz & Higgins p.118 ...

, appeared in ''L'Écho de Paris'', 10 albums *1928-1934: ''Grassouillet'', written by

, 6 albums *1929-1944: ''La Famille Amulette'', appeared in ''Benjamin'', 2 albums *1945-1949: 12 comic books for publisher Gordinne, from

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

, Belgium, including: **''Olive et Bengali'', 3 albums **''Suzel'', 2 albums **''Gringalou'', 3 albums

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinchon, Joseph 1871 births 1953 deaths People from Amiens French comics artists 19th-century French painters French illustrators French costume designers French film directors 20th-century French painters