French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Denoudet, Drawing History: Towards a Visual History
Art and Visual Culture
Drawing History: Towards a Visual History
Adrien Genoudet
Pascal Ory (Foreword)
Publication date: 01/09/2015 Publisher: Le Manuscrit Collection: Graphein ISBN: 978-2-304-04504-8 EAN: 9782304045048 Format: Paperback No. of pages: 200 p.
Drawing is a fruitful and as yet unexplored field. Drawing history means asking what it implies to translate the past—which by definition has vanished—through drawing. If there is something, beyond the graphic style of the authors, that unites "historical" comic books, it is that they allow us to see again, reenacting the past through the medium of the image, and more specifically, drawing.
A "historical" comic book can truly be defined where—whether "serious" or humorous—the artist invokes an entire realm of imagination, considerations, knowledge, and influences that become embodied within their work, their line. Whether it is Asterix, Fritz Haber, or the comics of Séra, these works transcribe and translate, through drawing, a certain form of the historical past.
Drawing History questions this culture of the past at the heart of our time. If the past is an image, how can we understand and disseminate a new way of thinking about the visual writing of history?
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An article about this book can be read on laviedesidees.fr:
This thoughtful study situates itself within the growing intersection of historiography and graphic narrative, a domain that examines how visual media shape our understanding of historical events. By analyzing works ranging from lighthearted popular albums to serious biographical accounts, Adrien Genoudet investigates the mechanisms through which graphic artists breathe life into vanished eras. The book addresses fundamental questions regarding the nature of historical representation, asking how the stroke of a pen can serve as both document and interpretation within modern visual culture.
Researchers, students, and enthusiasts of both comic art and contemporary historiography will find this volume a valuable resource for rethinking the boundaries of historical discourse. It provides critical vocabulary for discussing how images function as historical thought, appealing particularly to readers interested in the methodology of visual studies and the evolution of narrative forms. By bridging the gap between historical analysis and graphic creation, the text invites a deeper appreciation of how contemporary culture visualizes and transmits its collective heritage.