Jean Bosc (cartoonist)

Jean-Maurice Bosc (born December 30, 1924 in Nîmes , † May 3, 1973 in Antibes ) was a French caricaturist and cartoonist , known as BOSC .

Life

Bosc grew up in Aigues-Vives in the south of France . After an apprenticeship as a locksmith, he studied at the Collège technique of Nîmes and later worked as a fitter and winemaker.

From 1944 to 1948 Bosc was stationed as a soldier in Vietnam . His participation in the Indochina War earned him the Croix de guerre , but made him an anti-militarist and permanently debilitated him, not least through 120 days of imprisonment with the Viet Cong . After his release, he worked on his parents' winery, but soon had to do without any physical work. The never diagnosed, probably psychosomatic chronic exhaustion was to accompany him throughout his life.

Bosc started drawing. As a prisoner of war he had already made a few drawings that he hid under the mattress of a cholera patient and was thus able to save them. Now he worked in a room on the upper floor and asked family members in turn to judge his works. Of around 600 (or 250) drawings that he made in a few weeks, 39 (or 49 - the stories contradict each other here) remained - the rest he burned. With the 39 drawings and 25,000 francs in his pocket, he went to Paris in November 1952 . His first drawings were published in Paris Match No. 193. He was to remain loyal to the weekly newspaper for 17 years.

The success came overnight. Editor Paul Chaland introduced him to the readers as a beginner and apologized for "the clumsy freshness". But Bosc was soon mentioned in the same breath as Sempé , Chaval and Mose, and the simplicity of his drawings made them recognizable. “The basis of my style is that I can't draw.” The self-taught Bosc actually only made a few technical drawings during his studies.

The list of magazines that published his drawings is long: France-Observateur , Marie-Claire (1956), Maison de Marie-Claire (1969, 74, 77), Elle (1969–1971), Sud-Ouest Dimanche (1970 –1977), Nice matin (1970–1973), Télé Gadget (1970–1971), Le Nouvel-Observateur, L'Express, Constellation, Pilote , Charlie Mensuel, France-Dimanche, Le Rire, Lui, L'Enragé, Politique Hebdo (1970), Haute Société, Minute, Bizarre, Charlie Hebdo , Radar; Notre Époque, Le Temps de Paris, Maillou helvien, Die Zeit , Frankfurter Zeitung , Stern , Sie und Er, Daily Telegraph , La Tribune de Genève, Paris-presse, Le Canard enchaîné , Le Crapouillot, Il Messaggero , Action, Combat, Charlie mensuel (1973), Rivarol, La Croix, Playboy , Punch , Esquire , Oui, Cavalier, Scottie Club News, Everybody's Weekly, Palante, L'illustré .

As early as 1953, some of his works appeared in the USA in “The Best Cartoons from France” by Simon & Schuster . The first book with exclusively his drawings was published in German by Buchheim Verlag in 1955: "Gloria Viktoria". It was not until 1956 that Bosc appeared in book form in France, with “Petits Riens” by Hazan. In 1960 “Staatsvisiten” was published by Diogenes Verlag as the first of eleven books there. Bosc was there in the company of, among others, Sempé, Paul Flora and Tomi Ungerer .

In 1958, Bosc was sentenced to one month suspended sentence and a fine of 300,000 francs for a caricature allegedly denigrating the army in Le Nouvel Observateur . Many of his drawings deal with soldiers and their absurd behavior, but also the urge to assert themselves by their superiors.

In 1959 he made the short film "Le Voyage en Boscavie" ("Journey to Boscavien", directed by Claude Choublier and Jean Herman ), which was planned as a supporting film for Jacques Tati's " Monsieur Hulot's Holidays " . For this film he received the Prix Emile Cohl.

In 1965, Bosc received the Grand prix de l'humour from the “ Lui ” magazine : a Matra-Bonnet-Djet (180 km / h). Despite Mireille Darc in the back seat, he'll sell it and continue to drive his white Florida.

Most of his cartoons are without words. One day Bosc thought he couldn't think of anything new. A friend reminded him that he could always add dialogue. It was only after this suggestion that his longer picture stories with dialogue emerged.

In 1969 Bosc stopped drawing. In 1965 he retired to quiet Antibes. In 1973 he gave his last interview. Weakened by his long illness, he committed suicide on May 3, 1973 at the age of 48. A few days earlier he said: “What is so discouraging is the fact that everything we want to suggest and propagate in our drawings is drowned out in the laughter of idleness and indifference. Everything rolls off smoothly and without a trace like a raindrop from an oil coat. "

Bosc is buried in the cemetery of his birthplace, Aigues Vives. In a letter to his sister Renée, he asked for a drawing of a funeral procession as a decoration for his tombstone, which walks under the poster of a laughing cow (“la vache qui rie”, a well-known French cheese brand). Instead, she opted for the picture of two funeral procession that cross smoothly like military bands.

Works (in German)

• Books
  • with Chaval , Bob van den Born : Little night music. Diogenes, Zurich 1954.
  • Cherchez la femme! Diogenes, Zurich 1954
  • Homo sapiens. Diogenes, Zurich 1957
  • State visits or how to make friends. Diogenes, Zurich 1960
  • Cold feet and other cartoons. Diogenes, Zurich 1964
  • You ... me too. Diogenes, Zurich 1965
  • If de Gaulle were little. Diogenes, Zurich 1968
  • I love you. Diogenes, Zurich 1969
  • Will be retracted! Diogenes, Zurich 1971
  • Is love a cruel game? Diogenes, Zurich 1974
  • Keep smiling! Diogenes, Zurich 1975
  • Anything but that. Diogenes, Zurich 1978

Web links

• Literature by and about Jean Bosc in the catalog of the German National Library
• Official website with many drawings (French)