Philippe Delaby

Although he passed away far too soon, Philippe Delaby left a significant mark on the Franco-Belgian comic art scene by radically revitalizing the peplum genre. His highly refined, academic style is evident in his meticulous, realistic drawings, which highlight the sculpted forms of the bodies and the raw rendering of textures: a blend of classical rigor and tragic sensuality. 

Primarily centered around the Murena series, Delaby’s market value remains strong. His color covers are particularly sought after by collectors: they encapsulate the essence of his work in terms of form and color. His highest public auction result was set during the 2014 Comics and Illustration auction, held in partnership with Christie’s Paris, where the cover of the seventh volume of Murena sold for €23,400 (including fees). Since then, numerous art pages and works have come close to this figure, such as the splendid cover of the first complete collection of Murena, which sold for €16,250 in 2022 (Daniel Maghen Auctions). 

Pencils, graphite and colored pencils are long-lasting. Pieces in wax crayon, black lead or charcoal require special care to avoid rubbing. However, never expose them to direct light. Like all materials, the paper used for these works is susceptible to change when exposed to UV light.
We advise you to display them away from windows, and to use frames made from pH-neutral conservation materials and “Museum” glass with anti-UV and anti-reflective treatment. If you prefer to keep your works unframed, we recommend storing them flat, in drawing cartons, with sheets of pH-neutral permanent paper in between. Keep them away from light and humidity.

Philippe Delaby was born in 1961 in Tournai as an only child. His passion for drawing began at the age of eight, when his father gave him his first comic book; at fourteen, he enrolled in his city’s Academy of Fine Arts. Fascinated by Ingres and the Flemish masters, he studied drawing and oil painting. This classical training, in a Belgium where comic strips were booming, immediately placed him among the ranks of realist artists: Cuvelier (creator of Corentin) and Jacques Martin (creator of Alix), who served as his academic role models. At eighteen, after winning a drawing contest, Delaby submitted his work to Le Journal de Tintin; where he honed his craft by creating illustrations and short stories based on scripts by Yves Duval and Jean-Luc Vernal. His first four-page story featured gladiators…  Complete biography.