« This collection is an old dream that I am finally realizing and that I have cherished since the beginning. Inscribed in the pure French and Anglo-Saxon tradition of beautiful live music, just as in that of the magnificent works of Gustave Doré, Odilon Redon and even ‘Arthur Rackham », confides Benjamin Lacombe.
And to continue: “ Papillon Noir will be, for authors and illustrators from all over the world, a fabulous laboratory which will use text, production and image as storytelling tools, to create and invent new imaginations. »
Editions that aim to be prestigious. And Papillon Noir? This moth, a white nocturnal butterfly that has turned gray to blend into its urban habitat, embodies resilience and adaptation in the face of changes in its environment, particularly under the effect of pollution, thus allowing it to escape its predators. .
At the end of October, two first works inaugurated the collection: The Witches of Venise by Sébastien Perez, illustrated by the Italian artist Marco Mazzoni, which takes place in a post-apocalyptic Italy undergoing reconstruction after a terrible pandemic…
The second, illustrated by Benjamin Lacombe himself, invites you to rediscover Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece, The Picture of Dorian Grayin its censored and unpublished version, prefaced by Xavier Giudicelli, specialist in Victorian literature, and Merlin Holland, grandson of Oscar Wilde.
Papillon Noir will grow 3 to 5 pounds per year. A version of Carmen by Prosper Mérimée, signed Benjamin Lacombe, is scheduled for November 20.
Benjamin Lacombe, a multi-talented artist, is both an illustrator, author of comic strips and children’s literature. His first work, Cherry Morellopublished in 2006 by Editions du Seuil Jeunesse, was praised by the Time Magazine as one of the 10 best children’s books in the United States.
Since then, he has written and illustrated numerous books, including Mr. White Rabbit, Macabre Tales et The Childhood of the Wickedthe ugly and the awful. Lacombe also lends his art to classics of general and children’s literature, notably illustrating The macabre tales d’Edgar Allan Poe, Notre-Dame of Paris by Victor Hugo in its full text, as well asAlice in Wonderland by Lewis CarrollBambi: the story of a life in the woods de Felix Salten et The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. His works are exhibited in galleries around the world.
Photo credits: Taken from Portrait de Dorian Grayby Benjamin Lacombe. Gallimard
By Hocine Bouhadjera
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