Claude Serre (10 November 1938 – 13 November 1998) was a French cartoonist, born in

Sucy-en-Brie Sucy-en-Brie (, literally ''Sucy in Brie (region), Brie'') is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Population Transport Sucy-en-Brie is served by S ...

Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a ...

Biography

After academic studies, he studied the craft of

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

for eight years under

Max Ingrand Maurice Max-Ingrand, better known as Max Ingrand (20 December 1908, Bressuire – 25 August 1969, Paris) was a French artist and decorator, known for his work in studio glass and his stained glass windows. He was educated at the ''École natio ...

, along with his cousin Jean Gourmelin. He then started drawing

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...

s and became an illustrator for many French journals, including ''Plexus'', ''Planet'', ''Hara-Kiri'', ''Lui'', ''Pariscope'' and ''La Vie Electrique''. He also began illustrating books. The first was ''Asunrath'', a work of fantasy, published by ''Losfeld''. He incorporated his interest in the fantastic into many of his early lithographs, which were published, sometimes exclusively, in many countries including Japan and Germany. He also participated in both group and solo exhibitions. In 1969, he met Jack Claude Nezat, and they became friends. Nezat wrote numerous articles devoted to his art and his work and organized two exhibitions in Germany in 1975 and 1976–1977 that met with great success. This relationship also allowed Serre to work with the magazine ''Pardon''. Serre, meanwhile, started drawing cartoons on such topics as medicine, sports, automobiles and DIY, and his first book of cartoons, ''Black Humor and Men in White'', satirising medical professionals, was published in 1972 by Editions Grésivaudan. The book won the Black Humor prize. A number of similar-themed books in the same vein were published by Glénat of

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

. He also continued to work as an illustrator and worked in particular on books by

Francis Blanche François Jean Blanche, known as "Francis Blanche" (; 20 July 1921 – 6 July 1974) was a French actor, singer, humorist and author. He was a very popular figure on stage, radio and in films, during the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Blanch ...

and Frederic Dard, author of the ''San Antonio'' series.

Death

Serre died of a

brain tumour A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cancero ...

at the age of 60 in

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples and/or pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norman distillation was ma ...

Bibliography

Albums (Glénat, Editor in Grenoble, France) * 1981 : ''L'automobile '' (''The Car'') * 1983 : ''Savoir vivre '' * 1985 : ''Petits anges '' (''Little Angels'') * 1986 : ''Zoo au logis '' * 1988 : ''Rechute '' * 1991 : ''La forme olympique'' (''The Olympic Form'') * 1995 : ''Chasse et pêche '' * 1995 : ''La chasse (coffret édition de luxe)'' * 1995 : ''La pêche (coffret édition de luxe)'' * 1996 : ''Faites vos jeux (en collaboration avec Bridenne)'' * 1997 : ''Le dico des maux'' * Tome 1: ''traitements et remèdes (préface Frédéric Dard) '' * 1999 : ''Coffret animaux'' * 1999 : ''Coffret autobrico'' * 1999 : ''L'humour chronique de Serre'' * 2001 : ''Humour noir et hommes en blanc'' (''Black Humor and Men in White'') * 2001 : ''Le livre d'or de Serre'' (''Serre's Golden Book'') * 2002 : ''Le sport'' (''Sport'') * 2002 : ''Vice compris '' * 2002 : ''Le bricolage '' * 2003 : ''Musiques'' (''Music'') * 2003 : ''La bouffe'' * 2004 : ''Les vacances'' * 2004 : ''La forme olympique'' (''The Olympic Form'') * 2005 : ''Petits anges'' (''Little Angels'')

External links

Official Claude Serre web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serre, Claude 1938 births 1998 deaths 20th-century French illustrators 20th-century French lithographers 20th-century French male artists Artists from Île-de-France Deaths from brain cancer in France French caricaturists French editorial cartoonists French magazine illustrators French satirists People from Sucy-en-Brie