Joseph Hémard
Encyclopedia
Joseph Hémard, a popular French book illustrator, was born in Les Mureaux
, France, a small town on the Seine, northwest of Paris, on August 2, 1880, and died on August 9, 1961, in Paris. He was a prolific artist. During the early years of the XXth century he published cartoons and comics in illustrated newspapers like Le Pêle-mêle or Le Bon Vivant. He also designed costumes and sets for several operas, patterns for printed textiles, bookbindings, posters and even a facade for a bar in the 1925 Paris Exposition of Decorative Art
. His lasting fame, however, lies in his book illustrations — always distinctly French in character and often erotic — which he produced for a great number of titles including many classics of French literature such as Le Malade Imaginaire
(1920), Gargantua et Pantagruel
(1922), Jacques Le Fataliste
(1923), Cyrano de Bergerac
(1927), and Aucassin et Nicolette (1936).
Hémard also provided illustrations — typically humorous cartoon-like drawings — for many unlikely non-fiction works including a variety of technical and reference books. These included drawings for Le Formulaire Magistral, a technical pharmacological manual with formulas for preparing medications, as well as a French grammar and an arithmetic textbook, both of which he also authored, all published in 1927. The following year he published books he wrote and illustrated on French history and geography.
Hémard also published a number of humorously illustrated law codes, including the family law provisions of Le Code Civil, published in 1925, the Code Pénal published in about 1929, and, in 1944, he published a lengthy, illustrated tax code of France, the Code Général des Impôts Directs et Taxes Assimilées, all published in Paris.
The illustrations in these three works, along with many others of Hémard's, were printed in color using the "pochoir" (French for stencil) method in which stencils for each color to be printed are hand cut, typically out of celluloid or plastic, and the colors painted on using special brushes. Pochoir produces intensely colored prints with a distinct fresh look and is best known for its use in French Art Nouveau
and Art Deco
prints in the early Twentieth Century.
Hémard wrote a brief autobiographical essay, published by Babou and Kahane
in French in 1928 and in English translation in 1929, which is largely devoid of factual detail. For example, after a random history of several "Hémards", purportedly his ancestors, ending with his birth and two paragraphs on his childhood, he states, "And then I drew for books." Hémard said that he spent four and a half years as a prisoner of war in Germany during World War I, and must have been captured shortly after the war began. Hémard had his most prolific period of book illustrations in the 1920s and 1930s. Although he remained in Paris and continued to work as an illustrator during the War, his anti-Nazi sentiments were expressed in illustrations and stories he contributed to a collection of humorous stories about the Occupation. Hémard continued his work at a reduced level after the War. In 1947, for example, he illustrated an edition of Brillat-Savarin's classic work on gastronomy, Physiologie du Goût ("Physiology of Taste").
Les Mureaux
Les Mureaux is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the north-western suburbs of Paris from the center.-Transport:...
, France, a small town on the Seine, northwest of Paris, on August 2, 1880, and died on August 9, 1961, in Paris. He was a prolific artist. During the early years of the XXth century he published cartoons and comics in illustrated newspapers like Le Pêle-mêle or Le Bon Vivant. He also designed costumes and sets for several operas, patterns for printed textiles, bookbindings, posters and even a facade for a bar in the 1925 Paris Exposition of Decorative Art
Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes
The International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts was a World's fair held in Paris, France, from April to October 1925. The term "Art Deco" was derived by shortening the words Arts Décoratifs, in the title of this exposition, but not until the late 1960s by British art critic...
. His lasting fame, however, lies in his book illustrations — always distinctly French in character and often erotic — which he produced for a great number of titles including many classics of French literature such as Le Malade Imaginaire
Le Malade imaginaire
The Imaginary Invalid is a three-act comédie-ballet by the French playwright Molière. It was first performed in 1673 and was the last work he wrote. In an ironic twist of fate, Molière collapsed during his fourth performance as Argan on 17 February and died soon after...
(1920), Gargantua et Pantagruel
Gargantua and Pantagruel
The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel is a connected series of five novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais. It is the story of two giants, a father and his son and their adventures, written in an amusing, extravagant, satirical vein...
(1922), Jacques Le Fataliste
Jacques le fataliste et son maître
Jacques the Fatalist and his Master is a novel by Denis Diderot, written during the period 1765-1780. The first French edition was published posthumously in 1796...
(1923), Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac (play)
Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life....
(1927), and Aucassin et Nicolette (1936).
Hémard also published a number of humorously illustrated law codes, including the family law provisions of Le Code Civil, published in 1925, the Code Pénal published in about 1929, and, in 1944, he published a lengthy, illustrated tax code of France, the Code Général des Impôts Directs et Taxes Assimilées, all published in Paris.
The illustrations in these three works, along with many others of Hémard's, were printed in color using the "pochoir" (French for stencil) method in which stencils for each color to be printed are hand cut, typically out of celluloid or plastic, and the colors painted on using special brushes. Pochoir produces intensely colored prints with a distinct fresh look and is best known for its use in French 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"...
and Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
prints in the early Twentieth Century.
Hémard wrote a brief autobiographical essay, published by Babou and Kahane
Jack Kahane
Jack Kahane was a Manchester-born writer and publisher who founded the Obelisk Press in Paris in 1929.He was the son of Selig and Susy Kahane, both Romanian-born immigrants. Kahane, a novelist, began the Obelisk Press after his publisher, Grant Richards, went bankrupt...
in French in 1928 and in English translation in 1929, which is largely devoid of factual detail. For example, after a random history of several "Hémards", purportedly his ancestors, ending with his birth and two paragraphs on his childhood, he states, "And then I drew for books." Hémard said that he spent four and a half years as a prisoner of war in Germany during World War I, and must have been captured shortly after the war began. Hémard had his most prolific period of book illustrations in the 1920s and 1930s. Although he remained in Paris and continued to work as an illustrator during the War, his anti-Nazi sentiments were expressed in illustrations and stories he contributed to a collection of humorous stories about the Occupation. Hémard continued his work at a reduced level after the War. In 1947, for example, he illustrated an edition of Brillat-Savarin's classic work on gastronomy, Physiologie du Goût ("Physiology of Taste").