French Literature Reviews - 2026

B. Duvert, Max Jacob. Histoires sans paroles
Art and Visual Culture

Max Jacob - Histoires sans paroles
Bernard Duvert

Foreword: Lina Lachgar

Publication date: 11/09/2014 Publisher: Artys Editions ISBN: 979-10-92110-03-6 EAN: 9791092110036 Format: Hardcover No. of pages: 93 p.

"Histoires sans paroles" unfolds like a silent film, one that we might imagine accompanied on the piano by whimsical pieces from Darius Milhaud or Francis Poulenc.

The illustrator, Bernard Duvert, brings to life the scenes of Max Jacob's unpredictable journey, from his youth to his martyrdom in Drancy, where he died on March 5, 1944.

A book where images tell their own story, a kind of graphic novel suited for readers young and old alike.

Bernard Duvert illustrates the life of Max Jacob from his youth to his final days at Drancy, presenting scenes that unfold like a silent film accompanied by whimsical piano pieces. Published by Artys Editions with a foreword by Lina Lachgar, the volume presents a visual interpretation of an unpredictable journey through a series of images that tell their own story. This graphic work is designed to be accessible to readers both young and old, tracing the biographical trajectory of a figure associated with French modernism and the artistic milieu of early twentieth-century Paris.

The format of the graphic novel has increasingly served as a medium for engaging with literary biography and the histories of writers caught in the political tragedies of the twentieth century. Readers interested in illustrated biography, the visual arts, or the reception of modern French literature may find this volume a relevant addition to their reading. The book combines text and imagery to evoke the atmosphere of an era marked by avant-garde experimentation and subsequent historical disruption, reflecting on a life that concluded at Drancy in 1944.