Josette Baujot (17 August 1920 – 13 August 2009) was 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 language ...

artist and colorist. She is most commonly associated with fellow Belgian comics writer

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'', ...

(Georges Remi) and his ''

Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 bande dessinée#Formats, ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one ...

'' series.

Early life

She was born Josette Marie Louise Nondonfaz in

Spa, Belgium Spa (; wa, Spå) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium, whose name became an eponym for mineral baths with supposed curative properties. It is situated in a valley in the Ardennes mountains sout ...

. There she studied

drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...

and

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

ure at the Academy of Fine Arts in Liège. She married Joseph Baujot in 1944, with whom she moved to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. The couple bought a

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

there and had a son. Her life changed abruptly when Joseph was shot dead while hunting in 1953. It was reported that he had been shot by members of the French or Belgian resistance who had tracked him down; however Joseph lived long enough to inform police that he had been accidentally shot by his friend. Josette returned to Brussels after his death. She eventually found work at the Hergé Studios. In Brussels she met cartoonist

Joseph Loeckx Joseph Franz Hedwig Loeckx is a Belgian comic book artist. He works under the pseudonym of Jo-El Azara. Important series he has worked on include ''Clifton'' and ''Taka Takata''. Biography Loeckx was born in Drogenbos, Flemish Brabant, near Bruss ...

, also known by his

nom de plume A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Jo-El Azara, creator of the character Taka Takata. He would remain her lifelong companion.

Career

Originally, Hergé drew the cartoons for ''Tintin'' completely in black and white. As the popularity of the cartoons increased, he hired colorists to add color to the work. Baujot was hired in 1953, and eventually became Hergé's main colorist, along with

Edgar Pierre Jacobs Edgard Félix Pierre Jacobs (30 March 1904 – 20 February 1987), better known under his pen name Edgar P. Jacobs, was a Belgian comic book creator (writer and artist), born in Brussels, Belgium. He was one of the founding fathers of the Franc ...

. She arrived as work was being completed for '' Destination Moon'' (Objectif Lune). Hergé was eventually very pleased with the outcome of her coloring. Baujot developed a distinct style of coloring, involving mixing of shades as opposed to the standard use of stark, contrasting colors. She would hone her technique throughout the upcoming ''Tintin'' projects, the next being ''

Cigars of the Pharaoh ''Cigars of the Pharaoh'' (french: link=no, Les Cigares du pharaon) is the fourth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the series of comic albums by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Commissioned by the conservative Belgian newspaper '' Le Vingti� ...

'' (''Les Cigares du Pharaon'', 1955). Despite having differences and often arguing over ideas and plans, Hergé admired and respected Baujot, and they remained close friends. In his unfinished and final work, ''

Tintin and Alph-Art ''Tintin and Alph-Art'' (french: link=no, Tintin et l'alph-art) is the unfinished creative work, unfinished twenty-fourth and final volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Left incomplete on Herg� ...

'', Hergé drew a new character named "Josette Laijot", an owner of a gallery, based on Baujot. She died on 13 August 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baujot, Josette Belgian comics artists Belgian female comics artists Comics colorists People from Spa, Belgium Tintin 1920 births 2009 deaths