François Schuiten (; born 26 April 1956) is a Belgian

comic book artist 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 comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the literary ...

. He is best known for drawing the series ''

Les Cités Obscures LES or Les may refer to: People * Les (given name) * Les (surname) * L.E.S. (producer), hip hop producer Space flight * Launch Entry Suit, worn by Space Shuttle crews * Launch escape system, for spacecraft emergencies * Lincoln Experimental ...

''.

Biography

François Schuiten was born in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium, in 1956.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "François Schuiten". In België gestript, pp. 153-155. Tielt: Lannoo. His father, Robert Schuiten, and his mother, Marie-Madeleine De Maeyer, were both architects. He has five brothers and sisters, one of whom is also an architect. During his studies at the Saint-Luc Institute in Brussels (1975–1977), he met Claude Renard, who led the comics department at the school. Together they created several books. Schuiten's brother Luc also worked with him several times as a writer for the series ''Terres Creuses''. Schuiten published his first comic on 3 May 1973, consisting of five black and white pages in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''

Pilote ''Pilote'' (), for a while subtitled ''the magazine of Asterix and Obelix'' (French: ''Le Journal D’Astérix et D’Obélix'' ) was a French comics magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major Franco-Belgian comics, French ...

''; four years later he was published in the more experimental magazine ''

Métal Hurlant ''Métal Hurlant'' (; literal translation: "Howling Metal," "Screaming Metal") is a French comics anthology of science fiction and horror comics stories. Originally created in 1974, the anthology ceased publication in 1987, but was revived b ...

''. He married Monique Toussaint in 1980; they have four children. Affiche Quarxs

Schuiten's love of architecture became apparent in the series '' Cities of the Fantastic'', an evocation of fantastic, partly imaginary cities that he created with his friend

Benoît Peeters Benoît Peeters (; born 28 August 1956) is a French comics writer, novelist, and comics scholar. Biography After a degree in Philosophy at Université de Paris I, Peeters prepared his Master's at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences So ...

from 1983 for the Belgian monthly comics magazine ''

À Suivre ''À Suivre'' or ''(A SUIVRE)'' (English translation: "To Be Continued") was a Belgian comics magazine published from February 1978 to December 1997 by the Casterman publishing house, and was preceded by a "0", or test, issue in October 1977. A ...

''. Every story focuses on one city or building, and further explores a world where architects,

urbanists This is a list of urban theorists notable in their field, in alphabetical order: * Christopher Alexander (1936-2022) * Donald Appleyard (1928-1982) * Michael E. Arth * Christopher Charles Benninger (1942) * Walter Block (1941) * Ernest Burgess ...

, and ultimately "urbatects", are the leading powers and architecture is the driving force behind society. Styles explored in the series include

Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...

and

fascist architecture Fascist architecture encompasses various stylistic trends in architecture developed by architects of fascist states, primarily in the early 20th century. Fascist architectural styles gained popularity in the late 1920s with the ri ...

in ''La Fièvre d'Urbicande'', skyscrapers in ''Brüsel'', but also the Gothic cathedrals in ''La Tour''. This fascination with architecture and the possible and impossible cities it can generate is further explored in ''The Gates of the Possible'', a weekly series Schuiten created for the newspapers ''

Le Soir ''Le Soir'' (, ) is a French-language Belgian daily newspaper. Founded in 1887 by Émile Rossel, it was intended as a politically independent source of news. Together with '' La Libre Belgique'', it is one of the most popular Francophone newsp ...

'' and ''

De Morgen ''De Morgen'' (; ''The Morning'') is a Flemish newspaper with a circulation of 53,860. The paper is published in Antwerp, Belgium. History and profile ''De Morgen'' originates from a merger in 1978 of two socialist newspapers ' (meaning "Onwar ...

'' in 2005. Inspired by artists and scientists alike, Schuiten's work can be considered to mix the mysterious worlds of

René Magritte René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgium, Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature ...

, the early scientific fantasies of

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

, the graphical worlds of

M. C. Escher Maurits Cornelis Escher (; ; 17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made woodcuts, lithography, lithographs, and mezzotints, many of which were Mathematics and art, inspired by mathematics. Despite wide popular int ...

and

Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( , , ; 6January 1832 – 23January 1883) was a French printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engravings illustrati ...

, and the architectural visions of

Victor Horta Victor Pierre Horta (; Victor, Baron Horta after 1932; 6 January 1861 – 8 September 1947) was a Belgian architect and designer, and one of the founders of the Art Nouveau movement. He was a fervent admirer of the French architectural theoris ...

and

Étienne-Louis Boullée Étienne-Louis Boullée (; 12 February 17284 February 1799) was a visionary French neoclassical architect whose work greatly influenced contemporary architects. Life Born in Paris, he studied under Jacques-François Blondel, Germain ...

. The creative synergy between Schuiten's work and the books of Jules Verne culminated in 1994 when he was asked to illustrate and design a cover for the publication of Verne's rediscovered book ''

Paris in the Twentieth Century ''Paris in the Twentieth Century'' () is a science fiction novel by Jules Verne. The book presents Paris in August 1960, 97 years in Verne's future, when society places value only on business and technology. Written in 1863, but first published ...

''. Schuiten also collaborated with

Maurice Benayoun Maurice Benayoun (aka MoBen or 莫奔) (born 29 March 1957) is a French new-media artist, curator, and theorist based in Paris and Hong Kong. His work employs various media, including video, computer graphics, immersive virtual reality, the ...

on the computer graphics series ''

Quarxs ''Quarxs'' was one of the earliest computer-animated series, predating ''ReBoot'', and the first one produced in HD. It was aired between 1990 and 1993. Each episode was made in HDTV and lasted no more than three minutes. Only twelve episodes of ...

'', and worked as a production designer for a few movies: ''

Gwendoline Gwendoline is a feminine given name, a variant of Gwendolen. Notable people called Gwendoline * Gwendoline Maud Syrie Barnardo (1879–1955), a British interior decorator * Gwendoline Butler (1922-2013), an English writer of mystery fiction *Gwen ...

'' by

Just Jaeckin Just Jaeckin (8 August 1940 – 6 September 2022) was a French film director, photographer and sculptor. He was known for directing several erotic films, starting with ''Emmanuelle'' in 1974 and continued making movies until he retired from fi ...

, '' Mr. Nobody'' and ''

Toto le héros ''Toto the Hero'' () is a 1991 Belgian film (co-produced with France and Germany) by Belgian film director and screenwriter Jaco Van Dormael. It won the Caméra d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1991, and the César Award for Best Foreign ...

'' by

Jaco Van Dormael Jaco Van Dormael (born 9 February 1957) is a Belgium, Belgian film director, screenwriter and playwright. His films especially focus on a respectful and sympathetic portrayal of people with mental and physical disability, disabilities. Van Dorm ...

, '' Taxandria'' by

Raoul Servais Raoul Servais (1 May 1928 – 17 March 2023) was a Belgian filmmaker, animator and comics artist. He was born in Ostend, Belgium, and is a fundamental figure of the Belgian animation scene, as well as the founder of the animation faculty of the ...

, '' The Golden Compass'' by

Chris Weitz Christopher John Weitz (; born November 30, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He is best known for his work with his brother Paul on the comedy films '' American Pie'' and '' About a Boy''; the latter earned ...

and ''

Mars et Avril ''Mars & Avril'' (French: ''Mars et Avril'') is a 2012 Canadian science fiction film starring Jacques Languirand, Caroline Dhavernas, Paul Ahmarani and Robert Lepage. The movie, based on the photo-novels of the same name published by Sid Lee & l ...

'' by

Martin Villeneuve Martin Villeneuve () is a Canadian screenwriter, producer, director, actor, and art director. He was nominated at the Canadian Screen Award (formerly Genie Award) in 2013 for Best Adapted Screenplay, for '' Mars et Avril'', his feature film debu ...

. He is currently working with

Benoît Sokal Benoît Sokal (28 June 1954 – 28 May 2021) was a Belgian comic artist and video game developer, best known for his comics series '' Inspector Canardo'', and the ''Syberia'' adventure game franchise. Biography Benoît Sokal was born in Brussels ...

and

on the script of ''Aquarica'', a film that will use CGI and motion capture technology. As a scenographer, Schuiten designed the

metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

stations of Porte de Hal/Hallepoort in

and Arts et Métiers in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and a mural in Brussels. In 2000, he designed the

scenography Scenography is the practice of crafting stage environments or atmospheres. In the contemporary English usage, scenography can be defined as the combination of technological and material stagecrafts to represent, enact, and produce a sense of plac ...

for ''A planet of visions'', one of the main pavilions of the

Expo 2000 Expo 2000 was a World Expo held in Hanover, Germany from 1 June to 31 October 2000. It was located on the Hanover Fairground (Messegelände Hannover), which is the largest exhibition ground in the world. Initially, some 40 million people were ...

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, which attracted more than five million visitors. In 2004–05, a large exhibition was held in

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

, ''The Gates of Utopia'', showing different aspects of his work. He also created the interior of the Belgian pavilion at the

Expo 2005 Expo 2005 was a world expo held for 185 days between Friday, March 25 and Sunday, September 25, 2005, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, east of the city of Nagoya. Japan has also hosted Expo '70 Osaka (World Expo), Expo '75 Okinawa (Specialised Expo) ...

Aichi is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...

, Japan, with the painter Alexandre Obolensky. François Schuiten has also designed fifteen Belgian stamps. Schuiten together with Peeters also helped to save and subsequently restore the

Autrique House The Autrique House (; ) is a historic town house in Brussels, Belgium. This house, built in 1893, was the first designed by Victor Horta in Art Nouveau style, and represents an essential step in the evolution of the Belgian architect. In many w ...

in Brussels, the first house designed by

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

architect

Awards

* 2013: Grand Prize in the Manga category of the

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival was an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by ...

* 2002: Made a

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

by King

Albert II of Belgium Albert II (born 6 June 1934) is a member of the Belgian royal family who reigned as King of the Belgians from 9 August 1993 until his abdication on 21 July 2013. Albert II is the son of King Leopold III and the last living child of Queen As ...

* 2002:

Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême The Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême is a lifetime achievement award given annually during the Angoulême International Comics Festival to a comics author. Although not a monetary award, it is considered the most prestigious award in Franco-Be ...

, France * 1998: Special Prize of the Jury at the

Max & Moritz Prizes The Max und Moritz Award ( German:Max und Moritz-Preis), also known as the Max & Moritz Prize , is a prize for comic books, comic strips, and other similar materials. It has been awarded at each of the biennial International Comics Shows of Erla ...

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

* 1996:

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at Comic-Con Internati ...

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

* 1987: Grand Prix at the festival of

Sierre Sierre (; ; ) is the capital municipality of the district of Sierre, located in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It has a population of 18,020. Sierre is nicknamed City of the Sun () for its average of 300 days of sunshine a year. It is t ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

* 1985: Award for the Best Comic Book at the

Angoulême International Comics Festival The Angoulême International Comics Festival (AICF; ) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lucca Comics & Games and the Comiket of Japan. It has occur ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

* 1983: ''Samaris'', the first book of ''Les Cités Obscures'', is chosen as one of the 20 best books of the year by French magazine '' Lire''

Bibliography

* ''

'': 1983-, 11 albums and some specials, with

Casterman Casterman is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics, specializing in comic books and children's literature. The company is based in Tournai, 90 kilometres southwest of the centre of Brussels, Belgium. History The company was founded in 1780 by Don ...

* ''Dolorès'': 1991, 1 album, artist Anne Baltus: Casterman * ''Express'': 1981, 1 album, with Claude Renard: Magic-Strip * ''Les Machinistes'': 1 album, 1984, with Claude Renard:

Les Humanoïdes Associés Les Humanoïdes Associés (or Humanoids) is a French- American publishing house specializing in comics and graphic novels, founded in December 1974 by comic artists Mœbius, Jean-Pierre Dionnet, Philippe Druillet, and financial director Be ...

* ''Métamorphoses'': 2 albums, 1980–1982, with Claude Renard: Les Humanoïdes Associés * ''Plagiat!'': 1 album, 1989, with Benoît Peeters, written by Goffin: Les Humanoïdes Associés * ''Souvenirs de l'éternel present'': 1 album, 1993, written by Benoît Peeters: Arboris * ''La Douce'': 1 album, 2012:

(translated into English as ''The Beauty''). * ''Les terres creuses'': 3 albums, 1980–1990, written by Luc Schuiten: Les Humanoïdes Associés Works by François Schuiten have been translated in most European languages, including Dutch, German, Danish and English.

Notes

External links

Homesite of ''Les Cités Obscures'', now archived at Alta Plana

EBBS.net - Former fan site, now archived at Alta Plana

Alta Plana - Official fan site

website of the restored Horta house Maison Autrique

Info on the English editions of his work
*

The Quarxs

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuiten, Francois 1956 births Living people Artists from Brussels Belgian comics artists Belgian illustrators Belgian graphic novelists Belgian fantasy artists Belgian animators Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême winners

Biography

Awards

Bibliography

Notes

Further reading

External links