Joël Parnotte and Warnauts & Raives Exhibition

In "Cauchon… ou l'homme qui tua Jeanne d'Arc", the reader is taken behind the scenes of Joan of Arc’s trial, amidst political manoeuvring and power struggles. The graphic novel focuses in particular on Pierre Cauchon, the powerful Bishop of Beauvais in the service of the English and the instigator of the trial. As the pages turn, and the trial unfolds over several months, the complex relationship between Cauchon and Joan of Arc begins to take shape. Faced with her spirituality and quick wit, Cauchon harbours doubts and questions the woman he labels a heretic.

Through Joël Parnotte’s exquisitely delicate artwork and a stunning use of direct colouring – a first for the illustrator – the story unfolds via a gallery of highly expressive characters and meticulously detailed settings. Bold framing brilliantly serves this rich and complex story, written by Xavier Dorison – with whom he had previously collaborated on "Le Maître d’armes" and "Aristophania" – and Louis-David Delahaye.

The exhibition will showcase over a hundred original colour plates from the album, created using direct colouring, alongside illustrations produced especially for the exhibition.

Éric Warnauts and Guy Servais, known as Raives, have been partners for nearly forty years. As pioneers of the magazine "À SUIVRE", they have worked on nearly thirty books together, transporting readers into stories set in the four corners of the world, often detective or historical tales. Working in tandem, the duo have developed a distinctive style characterised by vibrant colours, intricately detailed settings and storylines in which History with a capital H, love and human passions take centre stage.

For this retrospective, the gallery will present nearly a hundred original artboards and illustrations in watercolour and Indian ink from the series "Suites vénitiennes", "Ciel d’orages", "Purple Heart", "Après-guerre", "Les Temps Nouveaux", Les Jours heureux and the one-shot Congo 40, reissued in 2024 by Éditions Daniel Maghen under the title Congo Blanc.