François Schuiten
Encyclopedia
Baron François Schuiten (born 26 April 1956) is a Belgian
comic book artist
. He is best known for drawing the series Les Cités Obscures
.
François Schuiten was born in Brussels
, Belgium
in 1956.
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 5 black and white pages in the French magazine Pilote
; four years later he was published in the more experimental magazine Métal Hurlant
.
His 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
from 1983 for the Belgian monthly comics magazine (À Suivre
). Every story focuses on one city or building, and further explores a world where architects, urbanists
, and ultimately "urbatects", are the leading powers and architecture is the driving force behind society. Styles explored in the series include stalinistic and fascist architecture 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
and De Morgen
in 2005.
Inspired by artists and scientists alike, Schuiten's work can be considered to mix the mysterious worlds of René Magritte
, the early scientific fantasies of Jules Verne
, the graphical worlds of M. C. Escher
and Gustave Doré
, and the architectural visions of Victor Horta
and Étienne-Louis Boullée
. 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.
He also collaborated with Maurice Benayoun
on the computer graphics series Quarxs
, and worked as a production designer for a few movies: Gwendoline
by Just Jaeckin
, Toto le héros
by Jaco Van Dormael
, Taxandria
by Raoul Servais
, The Golden Compass by Chris Weitz
, and Mr. Nobody
by Jaco Van Dormael
. He is currently working on other feature films, such as Mars et Avril
by Martin Villeneuve, as well as on a computer-animated film which he will co-direct with his colleague Benoît Sokal
.
As a scenographer, he designed the metro
stations of Porte de Hal
in Brussels
and Arts et Métiers
in Paris
, and a mural in Brussels
. In 2000, he designed the scenography
for A planet of visions, one of the main pavilions of the Hannover World's Fair
, which attracted more than five million visitors. In 2004-2005, a large exhibition was held in Leuven, The Gates of Utopia, showing different aspects of his work. He also created the interior of the Belgian pavilion at the Expo 2005
in Aichi, Japan
with the painter Alexandre Obolensky. François Schuiten has also designed 15 Belgian stamps.
Schuiten together with Peeters also helped to save and subsequently restore the Maison Autrique, the first house designed by Art Nouveau
architect Victor Horta
.
François Schuiten married Monique Toussaint in 1980; they have four children.
Franco-Belgian comics
Franco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
comic book artist
Comic Book Artist
Comic Book Artist was an American magazine founded by Jon B. Cooke devoted to anecdotal histories of American comic books, with emphasis on comics published since the 1960s...
. He is best known for drawing the series Les Cités Obscures
Les Cités Obscures
Les Cités obscures is a graphic novel series set on a Counter-Earth, started by the Belgian comics artist François Schuiten and his friend, writer Benoît Peeters in the early 1980s...
.
Biography
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
in 1956.
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
Institut Saint-Luc
The Institut Saint-Luc is an arts school in Brussels. It consists of six departments, with a total of 2200 students and some 430 employees, divided over five locations in Ixelles and Saint-Gilles.-History:...
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
(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 5 black and white pages in the French magazine Pilote
Pilote
thumb|Cover of the first Pilote teaser issue, #0.Pilote was a French comics periodical published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as Astérix le Gaulois, Blueberry, Achille Talon, and Valérian et...
; four years later he was published in the more experimental magazine Métal Hurlant
Métal Hurlant
Métal Hurlant is a French comics anthology of science fiction and horror comics stories, created in December 1974 by comics artists Jean Giraud and Philippe Druillet together with journalist-writer Jean-Pierre Dionnet and financial director Bernard Farkas.The four were collectively known as "Les...
.
Les Cités Obscures
Les Cités obscures is a graphic novel series set on a Counter-Earth, started by the Belgian comics artist François Schuiten and his friend, writer Benoît Peeters in the early 1980s...
, an evocation of fantastic, partly imaginary cities that he created with his friend Benoît Peeters
Benoît Peeters
Benoît Peeters is a comics writer, novelist, and critic. He has lived in Belgium since 1978.His best-known work is Les Cités Obscures, an imaginary world which mingles a Borgesian metaphysical surrealism with the detailed architectural vistas of the series' artist, François Schuiten...
from 1983 for the Belgian monthly comics magazine (À Suivre
À Suivre
or was a Franco-Belgian comics magazine published from February 1978 to December 1997 by the Casterman publishing house....
). Every story focuses on one city or building, and further explores a world where architects, urbanists
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
, and ultimately "urbatects", are the leading powers and architecture is the driving force behind society. Styles explored in the series include stalinistic and fascist architecture 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
Le Soir is a Berliner Format Belgian newspaper. Le Soir was founded in 1887 by Emile Rossel. It is the most popular Francophone newspaper in Belgium, and considered a newspaper of record.-Editorial stance:...
and De Morgen
De Morgen
De Morgen is a Flemish newspaper with a circulation of 53,860. It originates from a merger in 1978 of two socialist newspapers Vooruit and Volksgazet ....
in 2005.
Inspired by artists and scientists alike, Schuiten's work can be considered to mix the mysterious worlds of René Magritte
René Magritte
René François Ghislain Magritte[p] was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for a number of witty and thought-provoking images...
, the early scientific fantasies of Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
, the graphical worlds of M. C. Escher
M. C. Escher
Maurits Cornelis Escher , usually referred to as M. C. Escher , was a Dutch graphic artist. He is known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints...
and Gustave Doré
Gustave Doré
Paul Gustave Doré was a French artist, engraver, illustrator and sculptor. Doré worked primarily with wood engraving and steel engraving.-Biography:...
, and the architectural visions of Victor Horta
Victor Horta
Victor, Baron Horta was a Belgian architect and designer. John Julius Norwich described him as "undoubtedly the key European Art Nouveau architect." Indeed, Horta is one of the most important names in Art Nouveau architecture; the construction of his Hôtel Tassel in Brussels in 1892-3 means that...
and Étienne-Louis Boullée
Étienne-Louis Boullée
Étienne-Louis Boullée was a visionary French neoclassical architect whose work greatly influenced contemporary architects and is still influential today.- Life :...
. 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.
He also collaborated with Maurice Benayoun
Maurice Benayoun
Maurice Benayoun is a French pioneer new-media artist and theorist based in Paris. His work employs various media, including video, immersive virtual reality, the Web, wireless technology, performance, large-scale urban art installations and interactive exhibitions.-Biography:Born in Mascara,...
on the computer graphics series Quarxs
Quarxs
Quarxs created between 1990 and 1993, was one of the earliest computer animated series. It predated ReBoot.Each episode was made in HDTV and no more than three minutes long. Only twelve episodes of the original series of 100 have been created...
, and worked as a production designer for a few movies: Gwendoline
The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak
The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak is a French action/sexploitation film released in 1984, directed by Just Jaeckin...
by Just Jaeckin
Just Jaeckin
Just Jaeckin is a French film director.-Life:He was born in Vichy France during the Nazi Occupation, but left with his mother and father for England: after the war, he returned to France where he studied art and photography, much of it he did before and after serving with the French Army: while...
, Toto le héros
Toto le Héros
Toto le Héros is a 1991 Belgian film by Belgian film director and screenwriter Jaco Van Dormael.-Plot:...
by Jaco Van Dormael
Jaco Van Dormael
Jaco Van Dormael is a Belgian film director, screenwriter and playwright. His complex and critically acclaimed films are especially noted for their respectful and sympathetic portrayal of people with mental and physical disabilities.- Biography :In the 1980s, he became interested in filmmaking and...
, Taxandria
Taxandria (film)
Taxandria is a partially animated fantasy film by Raoul Servais, based on a book by French writer Alain Robbe-Grillet, and starring, among others, Armin Mueller-Stahl...
by Raoul Servais
Raoul Servais
Raoul Servais is a Belgian filmmaker. He was born in Ostend.-Filmography:* 1963: The False Note* 1966: Chromophobia* 1968: Sirene* 1969: Goldframe* 1970: To speak or not to speak* 1971: Operation X-70...
, The Golden Compass by Chris Weitz
Chris Weitz
Christopher John "Chris" Weitz is an American producer, writer, director and actor. He is best known for his work with his brother, Paul Weitz, on the comedy films American Pie and About a Boy, as well as directing the film adaptation of the novel The Golden Compass and the film adaptation of New...
, and Mr. Nobody
Mr. Nobody (film)
Mr. Nobody is a 2009 Belgian science fiction drama film directed by Jaco Van Dormael, starring Jared Leto, Diane Kruger, Linh Dan Pham, Sarah Polley, Natasha Little, Rhys Ifans and Daniel Mays. This movie tells the life story of Nemo Nobody, the last mortal on Earth. Nemo is 118 years old and lives...
by Jaco Van Dormael
Jaco Van Dormael
Jaco Van Dormael is a Belgian film director, screenwriter and playwright. His complex and critically acclaimed films are especially noted for their respectful and sympathetic portrayal of people with mental and physical disabilities.- Biography :In the 1980s, he became interested in filmmaking and...
. He is currently working on other feature films, such as Mars et Avril
Mars et Avril (film)
Mars et Avril is a Canadian science fiction film, currently in post-production, starring Jacques Languirand, Caroline Dhavernas, Paul Ahmarani and Robert Lepage. The feature film, based on the graphic novels of the same name, is written, produced and directed by Martin Villeneuve.Almost entirely...
by Martin Villeneuve, as well as on a computer-animated film which he will co-direct with his colleague Benoît Sokal
Benoît Sokal
Benoît Sokal is a Belgian comic artist and video game developer, best known for his comics series Inspector Canardo.-Biography:...
.
As a scenographer, he designed the metro
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
stations of Porte de Hal
Porte de Hal/Hallepoort metro station
The Porte de Hal/Hallepoort metro station is an Brussels metro station on the southern segment of line 2. It was opened to premetro trams on 2 October 1988 and line 2 of the metro reached the station 3 December 1993 .It is located under the small ring in the municipality of Saint-Gilles /...
in Brussels
Brussels Metro
The Brussels Metro is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of a network with four metro line services with some shared sections. The metro has 49.9 km of network and 59 stations...
and Arts et Métiers
Arts et Métiers (Paris Metro)
Arts et Métiers is a station of the Paris Métro, serving Line 3 and Line 11. It takes its name from the Musée des Arts et Métiers, which is served by the station. It opened on 19 October 1904 as part of the first section of line 3 opened between Père Lachaise and Villiers...
in Paris
Paris Métro
The Paris Métro or Métropolitain is the rapid transit metro system in Paris, France. It has become a symbol of the city, noted for its density within the city limits and its uniform architecture influenced by Art Nouveau. The network's sixteen lines are mostly underground and run to 214 km ...
, and a mural in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. In 2000, he designed the scenography
Scenography
-Usage:Whilst also aligned with the professional practice of the scenographer, it is important to distinguish the individual elements that comprise the 'design' of a performance event from the term 'scenography' which is as an artistic perspective concerning the visual, experiential and spatial...
for A planet of visions, one of the main pavilions of the Hannover World's Fair
World's Fair
World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...
, which attracted more than five million visitors. In 2004-2005, a large exhibition was held in Leuven, 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
Expo 2005 was the World's Fair held for 185 days between Friday, March 25 and Sunday, September 25, 2005, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, east of the city of Nagoya. It was a Specialized International Exhibition under the scheme of the 1972 protocol of the Convention relating to International Exhibitions...
in Aichi, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
with the painter Alexandre Obolensky. François Schuiten has also designed 15 Belgian stamps.
Schuiten together with Peeters also helped to save and subsequently restore the Maison Autrique, the first house designed by Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
architect Victor Horta
Victor Horta
Victor, Baron Horta was a Belgian architect and designer. John Julius Norwich described him as "undoubtedly the key European Art Nouveau architect." Indeed, Horta is one of the most important names in Art Nouveau architecture; the construction of his Hôtel Tassel in Brussels in 1892-3 means that...
.
François Schuiten married Monique Toussaint in 1980; they have four children.
Awards
- 1983: Samaris, the first book of Les Cités Obscures, is chosen as one of the 20 best books of the year by French magazine LireLireLire is a French literary magazine covering both French and foreign literature. It was founded in 1975 by Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber and Bernard Pivot.-External links:*...
- 1985: Award for the Best Comic BookAngoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Best Comic BookThe Prize for Best Album , also known as the Golden Wildcat , is awarded to comics authors at the Angoulême International Comics Festival....
at the Angoulême International Comics FestivalAngoulême International Comics FestivalThe Angoulême International Comics Festival is the largest comics festival in Europe. It has occurred every year since 1974 in Angoulême, France, in the month of January.The four-day festival is notable for awarding several prestigious prizes in cartooning...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... - 1987: Grand Prix at the festival of SierreSierreSierre is the capital of the district of Sierre in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a population of 14,355.It is situated on the French–German language border of the canton of Wallis...
, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... - 1996: Inkpot AwardInkpot AwardThe Inkpot Award, bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International, is given to some of the professionals in comic book, comic strip, animation, science fiction, and related pop-culture fields, who are guests of that organization's yearly multigenre fan convention, commonly known as...
, U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... - 1998: Special Prize of the Jury at the Max & Moritz PrizesMax & Moritz PrizesThe Max & Moritz Prize is a prize for comic books, comic strips, and other similar materials which has been awarded at each of the biennial International Comics Shows of Erlangen since 1984...
, ErlangenErlangenErlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.Erlangen has more than 100,000 inhabitants....
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... - 2002: Grand Prix de la ville d'AngoulêmeGrand Prix de la ville d'AngoulêmeEvery year, the Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême is awarded during the Angoulême International Comics Festival to an author for his body of work and/or for his achievement in the evolution of comics....
, France - 2002: Made a baronBaronBaron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
by King Albert II of BelgiumAlbert II of BelgiumAlbert II is the current reigning King of the Belgians, a constitutional monarch. He is a member of the royal house "of Belgium"; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
Further reading
- Schuiten, François (2004), "The Book of Schuiten". Nantier Beall Minoustchine Publishing. ISBN 1-56163-402-6
External links
- Homesite of Les Cités Obscures
- EBBS.net - Fan site
- Alta Plana - Fan site
- website of the restored Horta house Maison Autrique
- Biography at the Comiclopedia
- Info on the English editions of his work
- IMDb entry
- A biographical timeline, in Dutch
- The Quarxs
- Comparative analysis on the works of Francois Schuiten/Giambattista Piranesi, in Spanish