Gabrielle Vincent

Monique Martin, known as Gabrielle Vincent, was born in Brussels on September 9, 1928. After graduating from the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts in 1951, the artist initially began a career as a painter. From her very first exhibition in 1960, she was immediately hailed by critics, who compared her to great painters such as Rembrandt, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Matisse. It was ultimately through illustration that she gained fame. Sometimes under her real name, sometimes under the pseudonym Gabrielle Vincent, she created illustrated books (using charcoal and watercolors) such as Un Jour, un chien (A Day, a Dog), Au Désert At the Desert), Au Palais (At the Palace) and La Petite Marionnette (The Little Puppet), which are still published today all over the world. She is particularly well-known and beloved in Japan.  In 1980, she created Ernest et Célestine, a series of illustrated children’s books. Considered a classic of children’s literature, the complete series comprises 26 volumes, has been translated into some twenty languages, and has sold over a million copies. Gabrielle Vincent has received numerous awards, including the Best Children’s Book Award at the Montreuil Book Fair for Au Bonheur des ours (Mr. Bingley's Bears), the Sankei Children’s Books Publications Prize in Japan for Un Jour, un chien (A Day, a Dog) and L’Œuf (The Egg), the Bologna Children’s Book Fair Graphic Design Award for La Naissance de Célestine (The Birth of Célestine), and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Un jour, un chien (A Day, a Dog). The series, originally published by Éditions Duculot, is now part of the Éditions Casterman catalog. In addition to its publishing success, the Ernest and Célestine universe continues to generate excitement through adaptations for the small and big screen: a first feature film in 2012 (1 million admissions, César Award for Best Animated Film, 3 Magritte Awards), a television series that has already spanned two seasons, and a second feature film in 2022, Ernest et Célestine : Le Voyage en Charabie (Ernest and Célestine: A Trip to Gibberitia). Monique Martin passed away on September 24, 2000. In 2024, the publisher Daniel Maghen, published Patchwork pictorial biography of Gabrielle Vincent.