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He offers sensual love to Tintin: an artist sued by Moulinsart for "attacking the moral order"

2021-03-11T12:01:24.528Z


The company which manages the rights of Hergé hardly tastes the works of Xavier Marabout. This Breton painter represented the little reporter with the arms of young sexy women in the sets of Edward Hopper. At the Court of Rennes, the artist had to answer, among other things, for "infringement". Judgment on May 10.


Once upon a time, a little reporter fell in love with young and sensual young ladies, straight out of Edward Hopper's paintings.

These are the stories sketched out and fantasized by Xavier Marabout, a fifty-three-year-old painter and sculptor, living in Morbihan.

Inspired by Tintin d'Hergé and the works of the American artist, the Breton had the original idea of ​​merging, in an unexpected way, the two artistic universes.

To read also: Tintin: the new case of the

Blue Lotus

This series, made up of twenty-four paintings, was initiated in 2014:

“I immediately wanted to make him fall in love, to imagine a sentimental life for this hero who is considered asexual.

And I developed this story in the paintings of Hopper ”

, tells the

Parisian

, the one who had already set up the same process by bringing together the wolf of Tex Avery and the characters of Picasso.

Tintin thus finds himself riding a motorbike in the American countryside, in a car in the company of a young lover he kisses languidly or surrounded by pin-ups at a dinner party.

The diversion is inventive.

In any case, the work appeals to gallery owners and the artist exhibits his paintings all over the place, notably in Brussels, the cradle of Belgian comics and of Hergé.

Complaint for "counterfeiting" and "infringement of moral rights"

Unfortunately, the initiative is not to the liking of Hergé's beneficiaries.

Via the legal department of the Moulinsart company, Nick Rodwell, second husband of Hergé's widow, Fanny Vlamynck, and managing director of the company, informed Marabout of the family firm's intentions.

“I received a letter in 2015 telling me that I was not allowed to use Tintin's image without permission,”

says the artist.

I responded by explaining my artistic approach.

I never hid anything from myself.

Of course, I knew the attitude of the rights holders in relation to the work.

But I do not believe that I am prejudicing Hergé's work.

On the contrary, I feed the myth.

"

In 2017, a court summons finally fell.

Moulinsart filed a complaint for "counterfeiting" and "infringement of moral rights".

The first hearing, which took place on Monday, March 8, 2021, is part of a logic undertaken by the company since the arrival of Rodwell at its head thirty years ago.

Tracking down the slightest “illicit” use of Tintin imagery, the cases and trials surrounding the reporter can no longer be counted.

The last such case dates from 2019, when Moulinsart obtained the withdrawal of a poster intended for the anniversary of the Belgian Comic Strip Center.

This one represented, in small size, the rocket of Objectif Lune.

To read also: Tintin: Nick Rodwell will publish a book to answer the controversies over his management of Hergé's rights

"I am in the parody"

"I am attacked for counterfeiting,"

notes Xavier Marabout.

But it is clear to everyone that I do not do Hergé, but Marabout.

There is no possible confusion. ”

Regarding the complaint for

"violation of moral rights"

, retained because of the supposed sexualization of the cartoon character, the artist claims a humorous message.

“I am in the parody

, he argues.

In law, this constitutes an exception to copyright.

Can you imagine an impersonator who parodies Johnny asking for permission before?

"

Read also: During confinement, Tintin was pastiched, parodied, hijacked ... and even recovered by the extreme right

This last argument is, however, not shared by the defense of rights holders.

"Take advantage of the notoriety of a character to immerse him in an erotic universe has nothing to do with humor"

, pleaded before the court of Rennes the lawyer of Moulinsart to

Ouest-France

.

"Hergé, interviewed many times, had explained his choice not to involve women in his work, because he found that they are rarely comic elements"

, she continued.

The hearing held on Monday before the Rennes tribunal de grande instance allowed both parties to express themselves.

The Moulinsart company is claiming 12,500 euros in compensation.

The artist defended himself, evoking his

“artistic freedom”

and his right to caricature.

The judgment will be rendered on May 10.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-03-11

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