Their friendship was sealed in the early 1990s thanks to their shared passion for the work of Jean-Philippe Dallaire. Thirty years later, cartoonists Siris and Marc Tessier pay homage to the Quebec painter with a biographical album entitled A Paris for Dallaire.
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
It was at the Cheval Blanc tavern, rue Ontario Est. Siris had taken out her sketchbook and Marc Tessier had pointed out to her that her drawings had the power and originality of those of Dallaire. It was no coincidence… Siris had sketches in his notebooks based on the paintings of the painter he adored.
“Even today, Dallaire is my favorite painter,” says Siris. His pictorial approach, his colors, the textures he managed to put in his canvases… The first time I saw his works, at the Marc-Aurèle Fortin museum, I fell in love at first sight! »
I discovered that we could draw differently. He has such an explosive style! He was also a very independent artist, with a committed side.
Siris
However, despite all the qualities of his work, Jean-Philippe Dallaire remains relatively unknown to the general public, deplore the two cartoonists. “In Quebec, people only care about Borduas and the Automatistes,” says Marc Tessier.
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IMAGE PROVIDED BY WATERMELON
Taken from the album A Paris for Dallaire
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IMAGE PROVIDED BY WATERMELON
Taken from the album A Paris for Dallaire
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IMAGE PROVIDED BY WATERMELON
Taken from the album A Paris for Dallaire
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IMAGE PROVIDED BY WATERMELON
Taken from the album A Paris for Dallaire
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It is therefore to make the creator of The crazy girl (a painting all the same estimated at 1 million dollars, recalls Marc Tessier) that the two men decided to merge their talents. Marc Tessier for the screenplay, Siris for the illustration.
“A life like in a movie”
“We embarked on a journalistic research work, explains Marc Tessier. We met his two sons, Michel and François. We spoke to his former student Jean Letarte and to Guy Montpetit, whose family accompanied Dallaire at the end of his life. These people gave us anecdotes that we incorporated into the comic strip. »
It should be added that Jean-Philippe Dallaire lived “like in a film”, according to Siris. He experienced poverty and worked with the Dominicans where he painted religious paintings before winning a scholarship to study in Paris. There he was taken prisoner by the Germans and lived locked up in a labor camp until the end of World War II. Back in Quebec, he will be a teacher and presenter at the NFB before returning to live in France, in Vence.
In parallel with the story of the painter’s life, it is the history of art in Quebec that is evoked in this album, explains Marc Tessier.
We have included characters who have existed, such as Marcella Maltais or cartoonist Robert LaPalme. There is also talk of the influence of religion on artistic work during Dallaire’s time.
Marc Tessier
During the six years that the project lasted, the two cartoonists found an ideological kinship with the painter. “Like Dallaire, we have always struggled to carry out our own projects,” says Siris. Marc Tessier adds: “We have had a constant practice in comics for 30 years, but we are both obliged to do something else to earn a living. Like Dallaire, we have the sacred fire. »
For the drawings, Siris (who gave us the excellent Vogue the suitcase) says he tried to put himself in the shoes of the painter when a blockage arose. “I went to see his paintings to inspire me. I’m not a realistic designer in life, but for this album, I needed the drawings and in particular the reproductions of the works to be as close to reality as possible. I paid for myself with this album, in particular by working on large formats. »
Now that the album has been launched, the creators hope that their work will open the eyes of those who don’t know this painter, yet a landmark in the history of Quebec art. “We want Dallaire’s spirit to spread. Maybe as far as France,” Siris says, literally crossing her fingers.
A Paris for Dallaire
Marc Tessier and Siris
The watermelon
120 pages