Victoria Francés (born October 25, 1982) is a Spanish

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

Life

Victoria Francés was born in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, Spain on October 25, 1982. She spent part of her childhood in Galicia before returning to her hometown to earn her degree from the San Carlos School of

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

, at the

Polytechnic University of Valencia The Polytechnic University of Valencia (; , ), shortened to UPV, is a Spanish university located in Valencia, with a focus on science, technology, and arts. It was founded in 1968 as the Higher Polytechnic School of Valencia and became a univers ...

. The first volume of the ''Favole'' trilogy became her first illustrated work to be published. Throughout the ''Favole'' trilogy (2004–07) are themes of Dark Romanticism, which are highly influenced by both the

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossett ...

and well-known works of

Gothic art Gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern Europe, Norther ...

. Her work has received a number of awards.

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person, team or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, that is unlikely to succeed but has a fighting chance, unlike the underdog who is exp ...

became interested in Francés work, allowing it to be published in North America. She made her first public appearance at the XXII Barcelona Comic Convention. At the convention were calendars featuring her artwork, as well as other promotional merchandise, such as posters, puzzles, and

tarot cards Tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play trick-taking car ...

. In 2007, the course of her career took another direction with the publication of ''Arlene’s Heart'' (El Corazón de Arlene) by Planeta DeAgostini. In 2009, she published the first volume in her ''Misty Circus'' series (

Norma Editorial Norma Editorial is a Spanish comics publisher, with its headquarters in Barcelona.Home
Norma Editori ...

) based on the world of the travelling circus, but written for a younger audience. In the same year, ''Dark Sanctuary'' was published (Astiberri Ediciones), written in collaboration with '' Dark Sanctuary'', a “Dark Atmospheric” band from France. The second volume in the ''Misty Circus'' series is entitled ''The Night of the Witches'' (La Noche de las Brujas), published in 2010. In 2011, the Favole trilogy was re-edited to create one single volume entitled ''Integral Favole'' (Norma Editorial), a compilation of the three books in addition to unpublished sketches and illustrations. In 2012, ''Ocean's Lament'' (El Lamento del Océano) was published, in which the author features a listless, spectral mermaid as the main protagonist.. Francés makes images for her

merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of Product (business), products ("merch" colloquially) to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative w ...

, undertaking commissioned work and collaborating with other artists on works, including the illustration “Hekate” for the album “Luna” for the German Pagan Folk band,

Faun The faun (, ; , ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology. Originally fauns of Roman mythology were ghosts ( genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their chief, the god Faunus. Before t ...

, and the artwork for a project entitled "Naked Harp," which was made by the Pagan Folk band, Omnia. At the end of 2014, Francés presented a new project named ''MandrakMoors'' in collaboration with the South Korean bjd doll company, FairyLand. For this project, the author decided to combine both the work of new character design, specifically of characters related to the world of

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

and pagan traditions, with the subsequent creation of bjd dolls, in partnership with FairyLand.

Style

Francés and her style are inspired by the Gothic movement, and her work contains characters such as ghostly women wearing long dresses with vampirical attributes. Her illustrations tend to depict solitary characters, young women, or couples in a romantic or melancholic atmosphere. She is influenced by a number of writers, including

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

Anne Rice Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of Gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Bible fiction. She is best known for writing ''The Vampire Chronicles''. She later adapted t ...

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics, an ...

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...

, as well as illustrators such as Brian Froud,

Arthur Rackham Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, ...

, Edmund Dulac or

Luis Royo Luis Royo (born 1954) is a Spanish artist. He is best known for his fantasy illustrations published in numerous art books, magazines such as '' Heavy Metal'' and various other media including book and music CD covers, video games and Tarot cards ...

and bands like Dark Sanctuary, whom she worked with in 2009.

Bibliography

Favole Trilogy: * () ''Stone Tears'' (2004) Norma Editorial * () ''Set Me Free'' (2005) Norma Editorial * () ''Frozen Light'' (2006) Norma Editorial * () ''Angel Wings'' (2005) Norma Editorial * () ''Integral Favole'' (2011) Norma Editorial Other Published Work: * () ''Arlene’s Heart'' (2007) Planeta DeAgostini * () ''Misty Circus 1. Sasha, the Little Pierrot'' (2009) Norma Editorial * () ''Dark Sanctuary'' Book + CD Dark Sanctuary (2009) Astiberri Ediciones * () ''Misty Circus 2. The Night of the Witches'' (2010) Norma Editorial * () ''Ocean Lament'' (2012) Norma Editorial

References

External links

Victoria Francés Official Website.

Norma Editorial Victoria Francés Page.

Vídeo of Victoria Francés drawing a vampire.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frances, Victoria 1982 births Living people Technical University of Valencia alumni Spanish illustrators Spanish women illustrators Artists from the Valencian Community