The City (wordless novel)
| Author | Frans Masereel |
|---|---|
| Original title | La Ville: cent bois gravés |
| Country | France |
| Genre | Wordless novel |
Publication date | 1925 |
| Pages | 100 (recto only) |
The City (French: La Ville: cent bois gravés) is a 1925 wordless novel by Flemish artist Frans Masereel. In 100 captionless woodcut prints Masereel looks at many facets of life in a big city.
Background
Frans Masereel (1889–1972)[1] was born in Blankenberge, Belgium. His stepfather's political beliefs left an impression on the young Masereel, who often accompanied him in socialist demonstrations. Masereel left to study art on his own in Paris[1] and volunteered as a translator for the Red Cross in Geneva during World War I. He drew newspaper political cartoons, and copublished a journal in which he published his first woodcut prints.[2] In 1918 he created the book of woodcuts to feature a narrative, 25 Images of a Man's Passion,[3] which he followed with Passionate Journey (1919),[2] The Sun (1919), Story Without Words (1920), and The Idea (1920).[4]
Content and style
Unlike many of Masereel's other books, The City does not follow the unraveling of a plot. Instead, a series of images of life in a big city are on display, showing people from different backgrounds and stages of life: a state funeral, the inside of a poor family's home, a woman's lifeless body dragged out of a canal, prostitutes and entertainers, courtrooms and factories. It closes with a solitary woman staring from her attic into a star-filled sky.[5]
The visuals bear a strong German Expressionist influence—what critic Lothar Lang describes as "the pictorial vocabulary of Expressionism". Masereel shared with the Expressionists a fondness for the woodcut, though he rejected such labeling of his work.[5] Freed from the needs of plot Masereel was free to focus on individual images to express his vision of the city.[6]
Publication history and reception
The work was made up of 100 woodcut prints sized 5 by 3 1⁄8 inches (13 cm × 8 cm).[7] It was first published in 1925 in Paris under the French title French: La Ville: cent bois gravés by A. Morencé,[8] and in a German edition titled Die Stadt from Kurt Wolff.[9] Later editions include a 1961 edition from Pierre Vorms under the French title La Ville: cent gravures sur bois,[8]) and under the English title The City from Dover Publications in 1972 and from RandomHouse and Schocken Books in 1988.[9]
Critic Perry Willett believed The City "must be considered Masereel's masterpiece woodcut novel",[6] and believed it anticipated the films Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis (1927) and Man with a Movie Camera (1929), in which the protagonist was the city itself.[10] Masereel continued to publish wordless novels throughout his life, from L'Oeuvre in 1928 to Route des hommes in 1964.[11]
References
- 1 2 Masereel & Beronä 2007, p. v.
- 1 2 Masereel & Beronä 2007, p. vi.
- ↑ Masereel & Beronä 2007, pp. vi—vii.
- ↑ Willett 2005, p. 118.
- 1 2 Beronä 2008, p. 36.
- 1 2 Willett 2005, p. 121.
- ↑ Beronä 2008, p. 248.
- 1 2 Beronä 2008, p. 244.
- 1 2 Eng & Kazanjian 2003, p. x.
- ↑ Willett 2005, p. 122.
- ↑ Cohen 1977, p. 190.
Works cited
- Beronä, David A. (2008). Wordless Books: The Original Graphic Novels. Abrams Books. ISBN 978-0-8109-9469-0.
- Cohen, Martin S. (April 1977). "The Novel in Woodcuts: A Handbook". Journal of Modern Literature. 6 (2): 171–195. JSTOR 3831165.
- Eng, David L.; Kazanjian, David (2003). Loss: The Politics of Mourning. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-23235-8.
- Masereel, Frans; Beronä, David (2007). "Introduction". Passionate Journey: A Vision in Woodcuts. Dover Publications. pp. v–ix. ISBN 978-0-486-13920-3.
- Willett, Perry (2005). "The Cutting Edge of German Expressionism: The Woodcut Novel of Frans Masereel and Its Influences". In Donahue, Neil H. A Companion to the Literature of German Expressionism. Camden House. pp. 111–134. ISBN 978-1-57113-175-1.