Renoir: Father and Son, a 2018 French graphic novel by Eddy Simon and Jak Lemonnier, will be released by Pegasus Books on May 4.
The story of Renoir: Father and Son revolves around its two influential artistic figures – the famous impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir and his auteur filmmaker son Jean – their lives and their interpersonal relationship.
From the Press Release:
“Pierre-Auguste and Jean Renoir, father and son, each marked the history of art—through painting for Pierre-Auguste and film for Jean, with the common thread of a desire to transcribe reality. This graphic novel tells the story of the intertwined lives of these two creators who always sought to draw their inspiration from the “spectacle of life”. But behind their art, there is also the story of the filiation between an old man who is slowly losing his strength and a young man seeking to make his own mark.”
The book debuted in the French market from publisher 21g under the title D’un Renoir à l’autre (‘From one Renoir to another’) in 2018.
Eddy Simon has penned a number of comics for the French market, his professionally published debut – after working on anthologies – was humour book Chroniques Ados (‘Teen Chronicles’) from Jungle!. Artist Jak Lemonnier comes from a cartoonist background with a portfolio of work styled towards an all ages or kids market – including commissioned informational pamphlets for institutions in his hometown of Le Havre, in France. Renoir: Father and Son is a stylistic departure from his other work – taking on a more detailed, almost painterly style in deference to its two subjects.
Pegasus Books has a relatively small catalogue of graphic novels under its aegis. Currently Pegasus Books has published eight titles and most have been translated works of historical or literary fiction. Last year the publisher released Yves Sente and Steve Cuzor’s Black Cotton Star (Cinq branches de coton noir) and Romaine Renard’s graphic novel Melville.
Some sample pages (sans text) to glance at:
