Rodolphe Töpffer

Rodolphe Töpffer, also written Toepffer ( born January 31, 1799 in Geneva, † June 8, 1846 in Geneva) was a French- Swiss artist and novelist. He is known especially for his picture stories are regarded as pioneers of comic books.

• 2.1 Picture Stories
• 2.2 fonts
• 2.3 expenditure

Life

Rodolphe Töpffer was the son of painter Wolfgang Adam Töpffer, whose father (Georges -Christophe Töpffer ) emigrated from Germany.

His initial desire to become a painter, Töpffer had to withdraw due to eye disease. Instead, he began in 1820 to Greek and Latin at a private school to teach. He married in 1823 Anne -Marie Moulinié ( 1801-1857 ), with whom he had four children: Adèle ( 1827-1910 ), François ( 1830-1870 ), Charles ( 1832-1905 ), Esther ( 1839-1909 ).

Thanks to the dowry of his wife, he opened a Knabenpensionat 1825 in Geneva. Inspired by the ideas of Jean -Jacques Rousseau, he organized trips and soon larger study trips with his students. In the first half of the 19th century, they usually traveled on foot in Switzerland, in Italy and in neighboring France. These trips are described in a charming way to Voyages en zig-zag. In 1832 he obtained the chair of rhetoric and literature at the Geneva Academy ( predecessor of the University of Geneva ).

From 1834 he was Conservative Member of Parliament of the Canton of Geneva. He fought against the liberal bourgeoisie and the tribune James Fazy ( in Histoire d' Albert caricatured ), which definitely abolished by the Revolution of 1842-1846, the old patrician system in the Canton of Geneva.

Pioneer of comic books

In his spare time Töpffer drew comical, sometimes bizarre picture stories. After Johann Wolfgang had his own spoof Dr Festus highly praised by Goethe, and at the urging of his friends out Töpffers picture stories were published in 1833 and quickly became popular. In these stories he caricatured among others, the standards of good Society ( Histoire de Monsieur Jabot ), teaching methods ( Monsieur Crépin ), scientists ( Voyages et aventures du Dr Festus ) and the politicians ( Histoire d' Albert, Monsieur Pencil ).

Goethe once said ( Eckermann, January 4, 1831) about Töpffer:

Töpffer is with these picture stories of the founders of a tradition that on broadsheets (eg Neuruppiner Bilderbogen, Munich broadsheet ), the works of Wilhelm Busch and under the influence of American comics leads to European comic.

Töpffer was one of the first people, joined the technology of the panels, which means individual images with a cartoonish drawing style. He experimented also with different image sizes to convey a sense of time.

He received his Schriftstellerruf with the romantic novels (Le presbytère; La bibliothèque de mon oncle; L' héritage, Le col d' Anterne, Le lac de Gers, La vallée de Trento La traversée, Le Grand Saint -Bernard, La peur; Elisa et Widmer ), which are collected in the Nouvelles Genevoise. Most of his writings are illustrated with drawings, particularly the Voyages en zig-zag.

Works

Picture Stories

• Les Amours de Monsieur Vieux- Bois (1827 )
• Voyages et aventures du Dr Festus (1829 )
• Histoire de Monsieur Crypto Game ( 1830)
• Histoire de Monsieur Jabot (1831 )
• Monsieur Pencil (1831 )
• Monsieur Crépin (1837 )
• , Also called Histoire d' Albert Histoire de Jacques ( 1844)
• Essai de Physiognomonie (1845 ) treatise on his drawing method

( It is given the year of creation, not the year of first publication. )

Writings

• La bibliothèque de mon oncle (1832, German The library of my uncle, Leipzig 1847)
• Excursion dans les Alpes, 1832 (1833)
• Le Presbytery (1832, German The Rectory )
• Voyages en zig-zag (1843 *) )
• Rosa et Gertrude (1847, German Pink and Gertrude, Hildburghausen 1865)
• Réflexions et menus propos d'un peintre Genevois (1830-1848)
• Nouveaux Voyages en zig-zag (1854 *) )

* ) Individual short stories or travel accounts were published earlier.

Expenditure

• Oeuvres completes. Édition d'Art Albert Skira, Geneva 1943
• Funny pictures novels. 2 volumes, Herbig, Berlin et al without year

See also the complete list of editions of the picture stories.