PARIS.- In Artcurial’s next major Comic Strips sale on 21 November there will be an entire section devoted to Tardi, comprising some 26 works. This is the first time that there has been an auction sale dedicated to the artist. There will be free access to the preview exhibition at Artcurial between 29 October and 4 November. Here the public will be able to view a group of important charcoal drawings that formed part of the exhibition Tardi en banlieue (organised in 1990 at the Escale gallery), superb illustrations for Voyage au bout de la nuit and Mort à crédit by Louis-Ferdinand Céline, and canvases from the series Tardi par la fenêtre .

« Organising this sale event is a great opportunity. Tardi is not only the creator of Adèle Blanc-Sec and Nestor Burma, but also one of the major authors of the ninth art. He is someone who, like Hergé, Edgar P. Jacobs and Enki Bilal, has crossed the boundaries of traditional comic books to offer readers a real artistic adventure » explained Eric Leroy, Comic Strip expert at Artcurial.

Collectors will also discover La gare de banlieue, an impressive charcoal drawing on paper (estimate : 100 000 – 150 000 € / 113 650 – 170 500 $) ; Rue enneigée (estimate : 25 000 – 35 000 € / 28 500 – 40 000 $), a beautiful drawing from the same series ; Les chiens écrasés, oil on canvas ; Uranus (estimate : 20 000 – 30 000 € / 22 750 – 35 000 $), a coloured drawing for the poster of the film produced by Claude Berri in 1990 based on the novel by Marcel Aymé.

The drawing, in Indian ink and oil pastel, for the cover of Voyage au bout de la nuit, published in 1988 by Futuropolis-Gallimard, will also be on offer (estimate : 6 000 – 8 000 € / 6 800 – 9 000 $). For the novel Mort à Crédit will be La tour Eiffel (estimate : 7 000 – 9 000 € / 8 000 – 10 250 $), in black felt tip, charcoal and wash ; Le Palais-Royal ; La montgolfière ; Londres (estimate : 6 000 – 8 000 € / 6 800 – 9 000 $).

Superb illustrations for Le Der des ders, the novel by Didier Daeninckx, will also star in the sale : La neige (estimate : 8 000 – 10 000 € / 9 000 – 11 350 $), in Indian ink and wash ; L’immeuble, Les chiens errants (estimate : 8 000 – 10 000 € / 9 000 – 11 350 $). And still on the theme of Paris and its neighbourhoods, a drawing for Rue des rebuts (estimate : 6 000 – 8 000 € / 6 800 – 9 000 $), in watercolour and Indian ink.

« The market for Comic Strips continues to be very dynamic, and longterm collectors as well as new enthusiasts, who we are delighted to advise, are becoming more and more demanding about the quality of the work. The future belongs to major authors and reference pieces» concluded Eric Leroy.

Tardi started his career drawing for Pilote in 1970. In 1972, he published his first book, Rumeur sur le Rouergue, based on a plot by Pierre Christin, followed by Adieu Brindavoine (1973) and Démon des glaces (1974). In 1976, the public was introduced to the first episodes of the adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, Adèle et la Bête and Le Démon de la tour Eiffel. From 1981, in the magazine (À suivre), he developed the character Nestor Burma from the novels of Léo Malet : Brouillard au pont de Tolbiac (1982), 120, rue de la gare (1988), Casse-pipe à la Nation (1996).

He has worked regularly with leading writers : Jean-Patrick Manchette (Griffu, 1978) ; Jean-Claude Forest (Ici même, 1979) ; Benjamin Legrand (Tueurs de cafards, 1984). Passionate about the late Belle Époque era and the First World War (Le Trou d’obus, 1984 ; C’était la guerre des tranchées, 1993), he also illustrated the work of Louis-Ferdinand Céline : Voyage au bout de la nuit (1988), Casse-pipe (1989), Mort à crédit (1991).

In two major exhibitions, Tardi has shown his works on paper (Tardi en banlieue, Escale gallery, 1990) and his paintings (Tardi par la fenêtre, Christian Desbois gallery, 1996).

He has collaborated with renowned authors such as Didier Daeninckx (Le Der des ders, 1997 ; Varlot soldat, 1999) and Daniel Pennac (Le Sens de la houppelande, 1991 ; La Débauche, 2000). In 2001, he adapted Le Cri du peuple, from the novel by Jean Vautrin, a saga in four parts about the Paris Commune.

In 2015, the Musée des Arts et Métiers held an exhibition on Avril et le monde truqué, an animated film inspired by the work of Tardi, that will be released this autumn.