Cover One of the parts of Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" rests on top of Stéphane Heuet's initial drawings of his graphic novel adaptation of the material

Catch until November 5 the exhibition of Stéphane Heuet's revered illustrations of Marcel Proust's novel that catapulted a newfound appreciation of France's beloved literary genius

Presented by the Embassy of France to the Philippines and Micronesia, in partnership with Alliance Française de Manille (AFM), the exhibition "Marcel Proust: In Search of Lost Time" featured enlarged illustrations by French visual artist Stéphane Heuet lifted from his graphic novel adaptations of Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time. In celebration of the 75th year anniversary of the French-Philippine diplomatic relations, the exhibition at AFM opened last October and was attended by Heuet himself who gave a roundtable discussion on Proust and his own creative process of illustrating the said literary masterpiece.

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Above Stéphane Heuet

Heuet shared that in creating the illustrated adaptation of In Search of Lost Time, he took a close look at the visual transcriptions of the text. By taking on the role of the novel's narrator (the main character), Heuet captured the essence of Proust's mind as well as his perspective on the social realities of France at the turn of the 20th century.

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In his initial sketches, Heuet opted for simple lines and colours. Taking inspiration from the aesthetics of Belgian cartoonist Hergé in his globally acclaimed illustrated series The Adventures of Tintin, Heuet further enhanced this by using digital technology and staying true to the details of the period where Proust's book was set. He heavily relied on impressionist paintings for the artworks Proust identified in his text, as well as the vintage photographs of people at the time to verify the minute details of their fashion. Heuet also researched archival photographs of the architecture of pre-war France. Painstakingly, Heuet lifted the text to his hand-drawn sketches, and then to digital art.

Delcourt, one of the largest publishing houses for Franco-Belgian comics, has been releasing Heuet's books since 1998. Now, Heuet is at the fifth book of the seven-part Proust novel and currently taking a break from it. To date, this comic book series collection includes over 2,500 drawings, divided into eight albums.

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In Search of Lost Time has an original French title that when translated literally means "Remembrance of Things Past". It follows the Narrator's recollections of childhood and experiences into adulthood in late 19th-century and early 20th-century high society France. One of its main themes focuses on the concept of time, our use and misuse of it, and how people make use of it meaningfully. It is a profound literary work with memory having a central role in the novel, as well as the nature of art, sexuality, romance, social class divisions, and the manipulative love that comes from separation anxiety.

"The themes of the characters are universal, that even the impoverished characters in the factory would have the same feelings about the moral order and the concept of death, sunshine and the rain. . .with the bourgeoisie characters. And sometimes, Proust would talk about these social differences," Heuet said during the roundtable discussion.

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Proust is deemed one of the most influential authors of the 20th century, whose works up to this day are being deconstructed and analysed by critics and experts in the academe.

Heuet's attempt to democratise Proust's work had been called out by so-called purists for being "cruel", "horrible", "catastrophic", "blasphemous", and "prodigiously inane", as written by a critic from Le Figaro. However, the artist defended his work as it has opened the door to more appreciators of Proust's literature and his philosophy in life, most especially younger generations. In explaining his process, Heuet showed that he doesn't change anything from Proust's text, and so the size of the illustrations would always correspond to the length of Proust's sentences. He said further that he only edits when grammar has to be corrected, after turning some sentences into illustrations, which leaves the text incomplete in thought when left as is.

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Above Stéphane Heuet's illustration of Marcel Proust

At the roundtable discussion, Heuet challenged Filipino illustrators today to adapt also the masterpieces from Philippine literature. In doing so, we would breathe new life into our poems, short stories, and novels from the past and from the regions that could be easily appreciated by many Filipinos today.

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