RABIER, BENJAMIN (1864-1939)

MR MICROBUS. Plate published in la jeunesse illustrée n° 171 of June 3, 1906. India ink and colored pencil on paper. Signed in the lower right corner. Some fading and folds on the margins. 41x33 cm. Benjamin Rabier is a French illustrator and precursor of the comic strip (notably thanks to his character Tintin Lutin, created in 1898), renowned for his youth publications, his "cow that laughs", as well as his character of the duck Gédéon. The round and dynamic line is characteristic of one of the greatest European drawers of the time, supported at the beginning by Caran d'Ache and much admired by Hergé. He was published very regularly in the periodicals "Le Rire" and "Le pêlemêle", "L'assiette au beurre", "Le Chat Noir". He also worked in the cartoon, and created many advertising posters