The comics of Tintin, the beloved Belgian reporter and explorer created by artist Hergé, have delighted children worldwide for nearly a century, and vintage art from the series' albums commands million-dollar prices at auction. Now, one of the original covers by Hergé for his fifth Tintin comic book Le Lotus Bleu (The Blue Lotus) from 1936 is coming up for auction on 21 November at French auction house Artcurial. Made of India ink, watercolour and gouache on paper, the drawing is estimated between $2.3-3.5 million (£1.8-2.7 mil).
This drawing is a true masterpiece which represents all the genius of Hergé, probably the most beautiful album cover of Tintin!
Because of the coloring technique used, the design was too expensive to reproduce for the cover and was refused by the series' publisher Casterman in 1936. The drawing was then offered by Hergé to the son of the publisher Louis Casterman, who carefully kept it in a drawer after folding it in six.
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Le Lotus Bleu, the fifth of Tintin's 24 adventures, follows the little reporter, and his beloved sidekick Snowy, as he travels to China to solve the case of an opium trafficking ring. In 1934, after Hergé met Chinese sculptor Tchang Tchong-Jen, the only real person besides Al Capone to be integrated into the Tintin comics, his characteristic realist style emerged. "This artwork is a genuine masterpiece encapsulating Hergé’s genius and is probably the most beautiful Tintin album cover ever," said Eric Leroy, comic book expert at Artcurial.
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Le Lotus Bleu was also the first Tintin book to meet with real success. Its solid and engaging plot, as well as the first colour illustrations, have contributed to its enduring popularity. "Hergé said that comics are above all about telling a story," explains Leroy. "This illustration for Le Lotus Bleu, probably the most beautiful cover of any of Tintin’s adventures, encapsulates the mood of the album perfectly. The direct use of colour is rare in Hergé’s work."
Artcurial holds the world record price for a comic strip drawing after the inside cover pages of a Tintin album sold for $3.6 million (£2.76 mil) in May 2014.
