THE DESOMBRES AFFAIR
Was Augustin Desombres just another pompous painter, or was he a major artist
of the late-19th century? This question is particularly hard to answer as almost
all his work seems to have been lost. However the investigations of a young
researcher have brought to light some very strange documents, including a series
of stunningly modern musical scores.
This film brilliantly combines a range of techniques to plunge us into the poetic
world of François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters, in collaboration
with musician Bruno Letort.
Desombres steps into the limelight
Who is Augustin Desombres?
Finding answers to this question is no easy task. Many unexplored areas remain
following the destruction, in 1989, of the Desombres museum in Aubrac and the
dispersal of his works and property in the great sale of the following year.
It must be admitted that today no mention of Desombres can be found in dictionaries,
general or specialist encyclopedias, or even in books on the history of art.
This observation is all the more disturbing given that material proof exists.
Three of Desombres’ canvases, including the extraordinary Enfant penchée
[‘Girl leaning’] (1897), were recently rediscovered in the vaults
of a museum in Albi, as was the artist’s personal notebook and an impressive
number of photographs. In addition to this, the musicologist and composer Bruno
Letort has examined the notebooks, and discovered musical pieces of amazing
modernity. These pieces, which he has finished himself, are collected here for
the first time.
Some have claimed that Desombres was a kind of medium whose pictorial researches
led him into a parallel universe which he named the “Cities of the fantastic”
One last factor of note is the publication of a thesis on Desombres, the only
one thus far identified. While indifference and ignorance on the part of museum
curators, collectors and critics have long been factors in the oblivion to which
Desombres has been consigned, the research undertaken by young art historian
Catherine Aymerie has proved well worthy of the attention paid to it by François
Schuiten and Benoît Peeters. Amyerie now works as an actress; however,
on meeting her Schuiten and Peeters quickly realised that her change of career
had done nothing to dampen her passion for Desombres. Catherine Aymerie will
be our guide through the life and work of the man once known as ‘the master
of Aubrac’.
Cities of the fantastic
The “cities of the fantastic” series, fruit of a collaboration between
François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters, now consists of thirteen
albums, all published in French by Casterman. These works have won a great many
prizes and have been translated into a dozen languages.
Although full of references to our world, these books unfold in a parallel universe:
a world of fantastic architecture – cities of dreams and nightmares.
Six of the albums consist entirely of comic strips; the others explore different
narrative forms: illustrated narratives, newspaper collections, children’s
tales, audio drama, etc.
Since 1996 “Cities of the fantastic” has also had an internet presence.
The address of the official site is http://www.urbicande.be. Many other sites
(in different languages) can be found at http://www.ebbs.net
THE DESOMBRES AFFAIR
written and directed by
Benoît Peeters
François Schuiten
original music Bruno Letort
camera Ella van den Hove
sound Jean-Jacques Quinet
editor Laurence Vaes
texts written by Benoît Peeters
drawings François Schuiten
photographs Marie-Françoise Plissart
graphics Laurence Beckers
executive producer Benoît Peeters
associate producer Renaud Barillet