On Arte, an event series in animated drawing brings to life the young generation of romantics in the 19th century

They were called Delacroix, Hugo, Sand, Balzac, Nerval, Baudelaire… They were not yet monuments of French culture, names printed in school textbooks. Just a bunch of young idealists with revolutionary dreamsdriven by the desire to put an end to the old world. They formed, according to the formula of one of their number, Théophile Gautier, “the army of romantics”. Formula which is also the title chosen by Arte for this great historical fresco which retraces their trajectory, and of which the four episodes are revealed from December 14 online before being broadcast on television December 21 at 8:50 p.m..

After global success nine years ago, of the Adventurers of modern art, virtuoso animated series adapted from the eponymous novel by And Frank on the birth of the avant-gardes at the dawn of the 20th century^e century, the channel gave carte blanche to its director Amélie Harrault (César for best animated short film for Mademoiselle Kiki and the Montparnos) in order to design a “sequel” – which will ultimately be a sort of prequel –, this time based on an original scenario.

A fertile artistic period

We will therefore find here the ingredients which made the success of the Adventurers : a collective epic brought to be part of history, the singular destinies young subversive minds caught in the whirlwind of art and lifea story led like a fiction punctuated by its moments of emotion and its cliffhangersgreat attention paid to the veracity of facts et a lost Paris resurrected with strong documentation. Except that we are here a few decades earlier, between 1827 and 1871.

A time of tumult therefore, crossed by the Glorious Three and the revolution of 1848completed by the bloody episode of the Commune. But an extraordinarily fertile period on the artistic, musical and literary level which will give birth to absolute masterpieces. In bulk, Liberty leading the people by Delacroix, Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo, LIt's Nocturnes by Chopin. And yet, the context in which they emerged remains poorly understood. What connects them – romanticism – remains a nebulous movement in the minds of the general public, often eclipsed by its foreign, German or British versions.

“We wanted a tool that we would have loved to have as teenagers to awaken us to literature, art, music…”

Judith Nora

“We wanted a tool that we would have loved to have as teenagers for awaken to literature, art, music… », enthuses producer Judith Nora (Silex films), together with Amélie Harrault and screenwriter Céline Ronté. The three women therefore decided to depict these sacred monsters as the heroes of a choral novela novel of friendship and love, made of revolts and intimate dramas.

Victor Hugo losing his darling daughter, Leopoldine. Georges Sand defending the women's rights and cutting her hair after a breakup. Charles Baudelaire discovering the properties of hashish. Gérard de Nerval sinking into the schizophrenia. Alexandre Dumas facing the racist prejudices. Either a story capable of speaking even today to younger generations.

A real animation challenge

And to better restore all its colors, all its freshness, Amélie Harrault reiterated the tour de force of Adventurers of modern arteither a series produced entirely in 2D animation drawing with a very pictorial rendering ! Only here, there is no question of mixing techniques. The Army of Romantics displays greater visual coherence, with a watercolor aesthetic which makes the whole look more fluid. And which also allows harmonious integration of the numerous tables of Delacroix, Friedrich, Courbet or Manet which punctuate the story.

Producing such a saga, three and a half hours long, was once again a challenge! Six years of design were necessary. 90 people of which around forty animators were mobilized for two years in the Silex Animations studios in Angoulemewhere the Adventurers had been produced previously. Nearly 2,000 sets were paintedsome of which are handmade by Amélie Harrault herself. 40 characters had to be drawn at different stages of their lives, based on specific historical elements. Budget total : 4,2 millions d’euros.

For a result to match. The narration carried by the voice of Cécile de France takes the viewer into a hair-raising sagawhich restores to these venerable figures all their enthusiasm and their humanity. Without avoiding the dark side of a sometimes authoritarian Hugo or a violent Baudelaire towards his lover Jeanne Duval.

Women, moreover, occupy a significant place therebeyond the passive role of muse. Above all, the series restores its French specificity to the Romantic movement: namely political commitment and the fight for freedom of expression. Far from an image of sweet solitary dreamers far from the concerns of the people, the romantic generation seized art as a formidable weapon to act on the world. An army which today appears more flamboyant than ever.