![Plantu Bastia 05](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Plantu_Bastia_05.JPG)
Jean Plantureux (born March 23, 1951 in Paris), who goes by the professional name Plantu, is a French
cartoonist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...
specializing in
political satire
Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where Political discourse analysis, political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing ...
. His work has regularly appeared in the French newspaper ''
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 ...
'' since 1972.
Early life
Jean Plantureux received his
Baccalaureate Baccalaureate may refer to:
* ''Baccalauréat'', a French national academic qualification
* Bachelor's degree, or baccalaureate, an undergraduate academic degree
* English Baccalaureate, a performance measure to assess secondary schools in England ...
from
Lycée Henri-IV
The Lycée Henri-IV is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges (''lycées'') in France.
The school educates more than ...
in 1969. Though he initially intended to pursue the study of medicine, he soon gave this up and moved to Brussels, where he enrolled in
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, ...
courses at the
École Saint-Luc.
Early professional career
Plantu returned to Paris and attempted to sell his cartoons to the French
daily newspapers
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
. He was hired by Bernard Lauzanne of ''Le Monde'' and his first cartoon, about the Vietnam War, was published on October 1, 1972. In 1974, Claude Julien, then-director of ''
Le Monde Diplomatique
''Le Monde diplomatique'' (meaning "The Diplomatic World" in French) is a French monthly newspaper offering analysis and opinion on politics, culture, and current affairs.
The publication is owned by Le Monde diplomatique SA, a subsidiary com ...
'', also began publishing Plantu's drawings.
In 1980 Plantu began to work with ''
Le Journal Phosphore'', a relationship which would continue until 1986. In 1982, André Laurens and Claude Lamotte, respectively the director and editor in chief of ''Le Monde'', asked him to begin drawing cartoons for the Sunday edition of the newspaper. In September 1987, Plantu appeared on the television show ''Droit de Réponse'', with Michel Polac, on
TF1.
In 1985, the head of ''Le Monde'', André Fontaine, started to publish Plantu's cartoons daily, saying that this would return political satire back to its former standing as a French tradition.
1985 - 1995
In 1988 Plantu received the
Mumm prize for his cartoon "Gordji chez le juge", followed by a ''prix de l'humour noir'' in 1989. In 1991, Plantu began to publish a comic in the weekly magazine ''
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 ...
'', which allotted him its entire third page every week.
In 1991 Plantu met
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
during a showing of his cartoons in Tunis. Arafat liked Plantu's cartoons so much that he drew a
Star of David
The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles.
A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...
on a Plantu cartoon, colored it in and signed it. The following year, Plantu traveled to Israel and met
Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...
, whom he convinced to sign the cartoon as well. This was the first time that signatures from both the
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...
and the Israeli government had been affixed to the same document.
1995 - 2000
''Le Monde'' changed its methodology in 1995, causing Plantu to lose control over the subject matter of his cartoons. In 1996, Plantu had a showing of his cartoons and sculptures at the
Cour de cassation
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...
(French Supreme Court) in Paris. Later that year he received the Spanish
Gat Perich The Gat Perich International Humor Prize, (Premi Internacional d'Humor Gat Perich) is an international award to cartoonists or humorists given in memory of Spanish cartoonist Jaume Perich (1941–1995).
It has been awarded since 1995. The prize con ...
(International Caricature Prize). Some of his drawings and sculptures were auctioned at the
Hôtel Drouot
Hôtel Drouot is a large auction house in Paris, known for fine art, antiques, and antiquities. It consists of 16 halls hosting 70 independent auction firms, which operate under the umbrella grouping of Drouot.
The firm's main location, called D ...
in Paris, and he received exposure in Argentina through the
Alliance Française of Buenos Aires.
In 1997 Plantu opened a gallery in
Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
, Sudan. In Budapest, the president of the
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
,
Árpád Göncz
Árpád Göncz (; 10 February 1922 – 6 October 2015) was a Hungarian writer, translator, agronomist, and liberal politician who served as President of Hungary from 2 May 1990 to 4 August 2000. Göncz played a role in the Hungarian Revolution ...
, inaugurated an exhibit of Plantu and
Gabor Papai. He also opened a new gallery at the French Arts centre of
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
. Finally, a collection of his work was exhibited at CRAC in
Valence, France.
In 1998 a stamp worth three
French franc
The franc (, ; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It w ...
s was produced by the French postal service, with the proceeds dedicated to
Médecins Sans Frontières
(MSF; pronounced ), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) or charity of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. M ...
(Doctors Without Borders). A total of 8.5 million stamps were produced. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...
,
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
published several foreign collections illustrated by Plantu. His drawings were translated into
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
,
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
,
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
, and other languages. That same year he opened a gallery at the French Institute of
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...
, Haiti.
In 1999, Plantu opened a gallery at the
University of Colombo
(Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate)
, mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens''
, established =
, endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion ,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. Some of his drawings were exhibited in Iran at the
Museum of Contemporary Art of Teheran; in the
Hotel of Rohan; at the
Museum Jean-Jaurès de Castres; and at the
French Arts centre of Singapore.
In September 2000 a controversy arose involving the distribution of a Plantu drawing showing
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
copulating with a sleeping
Marianne
Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty.
Marianne is displayed i ...
. An exhibit of Plantu and
Daumier written by curator Cyril Dumas opened in the Museum of
Yves Brayer
Yves Brayer (18 November 1907 – 29 May 1990) was a French painter known for his paintings of everyday life.
He was born in Versailles. He studied in Paris at the academies in Montparnasse starting in 1924, and then at the École des Beaux-Art ...
les Baux de Provence. The exhibition described traits shared by both caricaturists. Another installation opened that year at the French Arts centre in
Yaoundé
Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...
, Cameroun.
2001 - present
Plantu's art was featured in the
Festival of the Caricature in Ankara in 2001. In 2002, he met
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
Secretary-General
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
,
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...
, to discuss an upcoming international conference of news cartoonists in Paris. A thesis was published by
Rémi Pézerat entitle
"La signification politique des dessins de Plantu (1972-2000)"The Political Significance of the Cartoons of Plantu (1972-2000)). Plantu celebrated the publishing of his 15,000th cartoon and his thirtieth anniversary with ''Le Monde'', and launched his ow
website
In 2003 an exhibit of his drawings was opened at the
Carnavalet Museum. Toward the end of the year another exhibit opened at the
Library of Alexandria
The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The Library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, th ...
in Egypt, as well as a street exhibition in
Angers
Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the prov ...
, France.
In 2004 his drawings were shown to the
French National Assembly
The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...
in February, and his 40th book, ''Ils pourraient dire merci!'' was published.
On February 3, 2006 he responded to the
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The ''Jyllands-Posten'' Muhammad cartoons controversy (or Muhammad cartoons crisis, da, Muhammedkrisen) began after the Danish newspaper ''Jyllands-Posten'' published 12 editorial cartoons on 30 September 2005, most of which depicted Muhamma ...
by publishing a drawing in the first page of ''Le Monde'' representing Muhammad using many copies of the sentence "I may not draw Muhammad".
In 2009, another controversy occurred when the group ''America Needs Fatima'' launched a vast e-mail campaign against Plantu because of a drawing on Jesus distributing condoms, instead of loaves of bread, to poor people in Africa.
Le Monde article
/ref>
In 2015, his cartoon, which shows an IDF soldier firing his gun at Palestinian civilians, joined by a stereotypical religious Jew, depicted with a long beard, hat and coat, and even a rifle on his shoulder made a serious scandal and rose emotions on a 'Blood libel' accusation against Israeli Jews.
Bibliography
* Plantu: ''Drôle de peuple - Komisches Volk! Dessins sur l'Allemagne - Politische Karikaturen zu Deutschland.'' (exhibition catalogue with political cartoons about Germany, bilingual: French-German) Schaltzeit Verlag, Berlin 2011.
External links
*The officia
Plantu Site
Plantu Interview
at Toons Mag
''Toons Mag'' is a cartoon magazine that offers a global online platform for publishing editorial cartoons, comics, caricatures, illustrations, and related news. It is a multilingual publication and organizer of an international cartoon contes ...
*Plant
American Lecture Series
*750 page pd
"La signification politique des dessins de Plantu (1972-2000)"
(French)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plantureux, Jean
1951 births
Living people
Artists from Paris
French editorial cartoonists
French satirists
French political satire
Lycée Henri-IV alumni