- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer
- Global stocks diverge as Chinese shares tumble
- Time runs out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Chad issues warning ahead of more devastating floods
- Creator's death no bar to new 'Dragon Ball' products
- Chinese stocks tumble on lack of fresh stimulus
- Trio wins chemistry Nobel for protein design, prediction
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- A US climate scientist sees hurricane Helene's devastation firsthand
- Can carbon credits help close coal plants?
- Boeing suspends negotiations with striking workers
- 7-Eleven owner's shares spike on report of new buyout offer
- Your 'local everything': what 7-Eleven buyout battle means for Japan
- AI-aided research, new materials eyed for Nobel Chemistry Prize
- The US economy is solid: Why are voters gloomy?
- Scientists sound AI alarm after winning physics Nobel
- Nobel-winning physicist 'unnerved' by AI technology he helped create
- Trump secretly sent Covid tests to Putin: Bob Woodward book
- Neural networks, machine learning? Nobel-winning AI science explained
- Boeing delivers 27 MAX jets in September despite strike
- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
RBGPF | -2.48% | 59.33 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.28% | 24.64 | $ | |
BCC | 0.24% | 142.365 | $ | |
SCS | 2.29% | 13.08 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.11% | 24.8248 | $ | |
BTI | 0.42% | 35.37 | $ | |
NGG | -0.6% | 65.51 | $ | |
RIO | -0.94% | 66.04 | $ | |
GSK | 0.24% | 38.11 | $ | |
JRI | 0.24% | 13.191 | $ | |
RELX | -0.1% | 46.595 | $ | |
BP | -0.69% | 31.81 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.01% | 6.9 | $ | |
BCE | -0.19% | 33.445 | $ | |
AZN | 0.03% | 76.89 | $ | |
VOD | 0.23% | 9.682 | $ |
Auctioneers eye new record for Tintin artwork at sale
Known around the world for his blond quiff and daring adventures, Belgian comic book hero Tintin is setting the art world astir with an original illustration that could set a new record at auction.
The 1942 black-and-white ink drawing by creator Herge for the cover of the third volume in the series, "Tintin in America", is set to go on sale in Paris next month.
The illustration, which shows a Native American chief pointing an accusatory finger at the tied-up Tintin, has been given an estimate of between 2.2 million to 3.2 million euros ($2.4-3.5 million) by auction firm Artcurial.
That top figure would see it match an original illustration for the 1936 cover of the Tintin adventure "Blue Lotus" -- which became the most expensive comic book art when it sold in 2021.
But there are hopes that the upcoming sale for the cover of one of the most popular Tintin books could go higher and beat that record.
"We are talking about drawings that belong to the history of art," said Vinciane de Traux, Artcurial's director for Belgium.
"Herge is, along with (surrealist painter Rene) Magritte, the most important figure in Belgian art."
- 'More impressive' -
The illustration -- put up for sale by an unidentified Belgian collector -- is the centrepiece of the February 10 auction in Paris.
De Traux said it was a "larger, more impressive composition" than the record-breaking Blue Lotus work, and was a perfect example of the style used by Herge, whose real name was Georges Remi.
The picture has been displayed at exhibitions in Paris in 2009 and Lausanne in Switzerland in 2010.
"It is totally documented and authenticated," de Traux said.
Tintin's image is closely guarded intellectual property.
The sale of the Blue Lotus illustration originally drew ire from Nick Rodwell, the British husband of Herge's second wife Fanny Vlamynck, who holds the rights to the Tintin works.
The famous picture of the black dragon on a red background was sold by members of the Casterman publishing family, who said their father Jean-Paul had been given it by Herge as a present when he was seven.
The future head of the publishing house reportedly kept the illustration folded up in a drawer for decades.
That was disputed by Rodwell, who criticised the Castermans for not returning the work and said it rightfully belonged in the Herge museum in Belgium.
But relations were eventually smoothed.
"The rights-holders of Herge's works were pleased with the outcome of the sale," de Traux said.
"Everyone is happy that the market is supporting the value of Tintin."
D.Philippon--CPN