Temporary exhibitions

"ArchéoAlix. Antiquity imag(in)ed by Jacques Martin"

Dates : 06.06.2012 - 08.09.2013

The exhibition is extended until 8 September 2013

Whether or not the name is familiar to you or whether it evokes adventures that kept you on tenterhooks, the Nyon Roman Museum takes you on the trail of a young hero who emerged in 1948 from the pen of Jacques Martin for Tintin magazine. Jacques Martin, who died in 2010, was the last of the three great artists of the Studios Hergé and one of the mainstays of the development of French language comic strips in the post-Second World War period. “The father of the historical comic strip” as some people called him was passionate about history and for his character, parachuted into the time of Julius Caesar, he created a dreamed-up version of Antiquity as a basis for the workings of his imagination although he made great efforts to equate it with historical fact.

Treading the narrow path between archaeological reconstitution and an adventure story in pictures, which requires clear choices, creates a dynamic which needs its own balance. The pursuit of this aim is at the centre of the work of Alix’s creator which now occupies a place of privilege in the history of the comic strip. Christophe Goumand, archaeologist and curator of the exhibition, was fortunate enough to have known the great artist personally.

Our warmest thanks go to Mrs. Frédérique Martin, Mr. Bruno Martin and to Editions Casterman in Belgium.

Christophe has brought together original plates, drawings, numerous documents and a number of films in which Jacques Martin can be heard speaking, all of which were on tap in the exhibition.

Documents à télécharger