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Francois Gianolla
Original Rare Mid Century Cubist Pencil Portrait of A Miner by Francois Gianolla

circa 1940

About the Item

PLEASE EXCUSE THE REFLECTIONS FROM THE GLASS - GLASS IS REMOVED FOR SAFETY IN POSTING THE ITEM AND CAN EASILY BE REPLACED BY SIMPLY OPENING THE BACK OF THE PAINTING AND SLIDING A NEW SHEET BACK INTO PLACE. ARTIST: Francois Gianolla (1907-1990) Dutch TITLE: "Portrait Of A Miner" SIGNED: lower right MEDIUM: pencil and charcoal on paper SIZE: 57cm x 47cm inc frame CONDITION: excellent DETAIL: François Gianolla was a Belgian painter, writer, playwright, singer-songwriter, musician, caricaturist, cartoonist, illustrator and comic artist. The majority of his work shows his admiration for the working class, particularly the miners' community in which he grew up. As a comic artist he is best known for his "Clear Line" style and continuing 'Fred et Mile' (1932-1940, later 'Fred, Mile et Bob') in L'Avenir, after Hergé dropped the series. Starting off as a children's gag comic, 'Fred et Mile' evolved into a genuine adventure comic. The series is also historically important for being either the first or second comic album published by Dupuis. Unfortunately Gianolla's style resembled Hergé too much, especially 'Quick et Flupke', which forced him to discontinue his relatively succesful comic strip. He would never make another comic again. François Gianolla was born in 1907 - only two months later than Hergé - in Montignies-sur-Sambre, as the son of a Swiss father and a Walloon mother. He grew up in the miner's quarter in Neuville, Marcinelle and Nalinnes. From an early age he was interested in drawing, music and the life of the common people he saw working everyday. He once wrote: "I was very impressed with these people who seemed to be supernatural to me. Admiring their courage, I swore to illustrate them and show audiences their life in all meaningfulness and honesty. I knew despair, but also the greatness of the worker: he was my horizon." Gianolla studied drawing and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. After graduation he became an illustrator and retoucher in a helio-engraving office. Gianolla then became the staff artist for the "kajotters" movement, the Catholic youth organization. He specialized in illustrations, caricatures and comics. He was also head of a subdivision for young workers.Shortly after World War II, he was an artist/cartoonist for the Katholieke Werkliedenbeweging (the Catholic worker's movement) and a Christian organization. Between 1946 and 1960 he spent most of his time between Paris, Switzerland and Charleroi, creating hundreds of cartoons for different papers and magazines, among them Le Soir Illustré. After settling in Charleroi he became a friend of Félicien Barry, head of the Literary Association of the city, and became an illustrator for its monthly magazine El Bourdon. He also wrote various poems, plays, novels and songs in both French as well as Walloon dialect, all romanticizing the life of miners. His poems were collected in the book 'Sang du Pays Noir'.François Gianolla passed away in 1990 in Nalinnes. From 10 to 13 May 2001, an exhibition of François Gianolla's drawings was organized by the Cenforsoc Mémoire Ouvrière association at the Château de Monceau-sur-Sambre, in the province of Hainaut. Between 21 October 2021 and 30 January 2022 an exhibition about his posters was held in the KADOC, the documentation and research center of the University of Leuven, located in the Vlamingenstraat 39.
  • Creator:
    Francois Gianolla (1907 - 1990, Belgian)
  • Creation Year:
    circa 1940
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 22.45 in (57 cm)Width: 18.51 in (47 cm)Depth: 1.19 in (3 cm)
  • Medium:
    Charcoal,Pencil
  • Movement & Style:
    Cubist
  • Period:
    Mid-20th Century
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Cirencester, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU2325214232222
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