Benjamin RABIER - Spirit of imitation - Original page

Benjamin RABIER (1864 - 1939), French comic book author
Spirit of imitation (1904-1905)

Original plate in Indian ink on paper, 42.3x26.8 cm, titled “Spirit of imitation”, red “color” stamp on the top left, numbered 17 on the right of the title.

This plate could have been titled: When the monkey imitates man. Terrible satirical scene, tinged with black humor, between a monkey and his master imitating the latter in his daily life, rendering him various services, until the day he saw a butcher slaughtering a pig, he then grabbed a knife and in his turn slaughters his master by "a spirit of imitation."

Crumpled paper at the bottom, overall good condition.

Benjamin Rabier is considered one of the major animal designers of the 20th century. He is and remains famous for the creation of the logo for the cheese “La vache qui rit”, and for his emblematic character of Gédéon the duck. He also successfully illustrated the fables of La Fontaine, the works of Buffon, founded the Pêle-Mêle, a whole crazy menagerie of pets. The two great figures of comics, Walt Disney and Hergé, drew a lot of inspiration from his world.

Dimensions :
- Height : 42,3 cm
- Width : 26,8 cm