Judith Vanistendael

Judith Irene Vanistendael is the daughter of the Flemish poet-journalist Geert van Istendael.Couvreur, Daniel, "Judith et le nègre", Le Soir, 30 January 2009 {{in lang|fr}} After her secondary studies, she attended an art school in Ghent,{{cite web |title=Judith Vanistendael |url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/v/vanistendael_judith.htm |website=lambiek.net |access-date=19 March 2023 |language=en}} and spent a year at the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin."Judith, l'art et la mort", Le Soir, 18 January 2012 {{in lang|fr}} Returning to Ghent, she resumed artistic studies for four years before continuing her studies in Seville, Spain. She learned comics creation at the Institut des arts graphiques Sint-Lukas Bruxelles in 2000, with teachers, {{interlanguage link|Nix (comics)|fr|Nix (auteur)|lt=Nix}} and {{interlanguage link|Johan De Moor|fr}} before publishing in journals such as Ink, Demo, Zone 53001, and Bruxxxel Noord.

Vanistendael's career began with the illustration of Flemish tales written by her father, Vlaamse Sprookjes (1995), then Het Koeienboek by Bibi Dumon Tak (2000). She also worked for a time as a children's book illustrator.

She wrote and drew La Jeune fille et le nègre, an autobiographical story in two volumes about the love between a young Togolese and a young Belgian. The narration depicts "the absurdity of the regularization procedures for undocumented migrants in Belgium", which multiply the obstacles facing this political refugee. The book, which mixes drama, humor, love, and lightness, according to Le Soir, immediately won several cultural prizes and was part of the selection for the Essentiels d'Angoulême in 2009, and for the {{interlanguage link|Prix Tournesol|fr}}.Giret, Haude, "Vert et visionnaire", Sud Ouest, 24 January 2009 {{in lang|fr}} The storyline echoes a novel by Geert van Istendael, Bericht uit de burcht (News from the citadel), which expresses his dismay at his daughter's relationship with an undocumented man.

In 2012, Vanistendael published Toen David zijn stem verloor (David, women and death), whose hero is suffering from cancer and undertakes to change his life,{{cite web |title=Livres : l'actualité littéraire, nos critiques et sélections. |url=https://www.telerama.fr/livre |website=www.telerama.fr |access-date=19 March 2023 |language=fr}} without succeeding in protecting the women who are close to him from the effects of his agony:—"The disease is the tragedy of the patient, but also of those around him."Châtellier, Thierry, "Judith Vanistendael, auteur du réel", {{interlanguage link|Charente libre|fr}}, 26 January 2012 {{in lang|fr}} The work, which is inspired by the death of Vanistendael's father-in-law, took two years to complete. Her preference was using watercolor.Peras, Delphine, "David, les femmes et la mort, par Judith Vanistendael", L'Express, 11 January 2012 {{in lang|fr}} The work was one of the five finalists for the critics' grand prize.Deglise, Fabien, "L'ACBD dévoile les finalistes pour son Grand Prix de bande dessinée 2013", Le Devoir, 27 November 2012 {{in lang|fr}} She has been nominated for the Eisner Award on three occasions."L’artiste de la fragilité de la vie", Le Soir, 14 September 2019 {{in lang|fr}}

Based on a screenplay by Mark Bellido, Vanistendael drew and colored Salto - L'Histoire du marchand de bonbons qui disparut sous la pluie (Salto - The Story of the Candy Merchant Who Disappeared in the Rain) (2016), which features a candy seller turned bodyguard in Spain of the 1990s.{{cite news |last1=Libiot |first1=Eric |title=BD: Salto, une partie de case-cache |url=https://www.lexpress.fr/culture/livre/bd-salto-une-partie-de-case-cache_1802570.html |access-date=19 March 2023 |work=L'Express |date=19 June 2016 |language=fr}} The main character, Miquel, is a failed writer who sells candy to support his family and agrees to become a bodyguard for a politician threatened by ETA, which ends up destroying his life.Tallet, Richard, "Un héros très discret", Charente libre, 2 July 2016 {{in lang|fr}}Potet, Frédéric, "Protection rapprochée.", {{interlanguage link|M, le magazine du Monde|fr}}, 2 July 2016 {{in lang|fr}} Vanistendael uses several processes and formats, in particular the colored pencil.

Vanistendael joined forces with {{interlanguage link|Michael De Cock|nl}} for a children's series, Rosie et Moussa, which appears in Dutch and as a serial in Brussel Deze Week before being the subject of four volumes.B.Dx and C.M., "BD "Rosie et Moussa à la conquête de Bruxelles", Le Soir, 1 February 2018 {{in lang|fr}} The story tells of the great friendship between two children from Brussels. The series was translated into many languages and received several awards. Director {{interlanguage link|Dorothée Van Den Berghe|nl}} was inspired by it to create the film Rosie et Moussa, released in theaters in October 2018.Caneve, Nastasja, "Sur les toits de Bruxelles, la vue est belle. Écran libre à Cinergie", Le Soir, 24 October 2018 {{in lang|fr}}

In 2019, inspired by the character of Penelope in the Odyssey, Vanistendael delivers Les Deux Vies de Pénélope, where a doctor mother engages in humanitarian work and distances herself from her family, especially her daughter. Vanistendael opted for a treatment with "watercolor stains".{{cite news |last1=Falier |first1=Anna |title=BD. Judith Vanistendael, l’" Odyssée " revue et corrigée |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/critique-litteraire/article/2019/07/25/bd-judith-vanistendael-l-odyssee-revue-et-corrigee_5493338_5473203.html |access-date=20 March 2023 |work=Le Monde.fr |date=25 July 2019 |language=fr}} Vanistendael long wanted to describe the life of a woman who, due to an intense job, cannot invest herself with her daughter.Bussy, Olivier le, "La femme qui n'était plus tout à fait là", La Libre Belgique, 2 October 2019 {{in lang|fr}} Having read the work of Homer, Vanistendael was struck by the role of Penelope, who limits herself to keeping the hearth, while her husband has increasing adventures. Nevertheless, Vanistendael retains that Odysseus left his family because a higher interest required it. In Vanistendael's album, Penelope's husband is responsible for watching over the home, while Penelope, haunted by her missions in countries at war, "refuses to let herself be reduced to her dimension as a mother" and returns to her humanitarian activities. During the production of the work, Vanistendael went to a refugee camp and drew a graphic report: Moria, the hell of Lesbos.Belhache, Philippe, "L'autre Pénélope", Sud Ouest, 15 September 2019 {{in lang|fr}}{{cite news |author1= |title=En Grèce, dans l’enfer du camp de réfugiés de Moria, en BD |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/grands-formats/visuel/2018/03/13/en-grece-dans-l-enfer-du-camp-de-refugies-de-moria-en-bd_5270283_4497053.html# |access-date=20 March 2023 |work=Le Monde |language=fr}} For this work, she received the "Bulles d'Humanité" prize, awarded by the newspaper, L'Humanité.{{cite news |title=Bande dessinée. Judith Vanistendael, lauréate du prix Bulles d’humanité {{!}} L'Humanité |url=https://www.humanite.fr/culture-et-savoirs/bande-dessinee/bande-dessinee-judith-vanistendael-laureate-du-prix-bulles |access-date=20 March 2023 |work=www.humanite.fr |date=13 September 2020 |language=fr}}

In 2021, at the {{interlanguage link|Prix Atomium|fr}}, Vanistendael won the {{interlanguage link|Prix Willy-Vandersteen|fr}} with {{interlanguage link|Zidrou|fr}} for La Baleine-bibliothèque (Le Lombard).{{cite news |last1=Detournay |first1=Charles-Louis |title=Les Prix Atomium 2021 récompensent la curiosité et la (...) |url=https://www.actuabd.com/Les-Prix-Atomium-2021-recompensent-la-curiosite-et-la-diversite |access-date=20 March 2023 |work=ActuaBD |date=10 September 2021 |language=fr}}

Vanistendael has a daughter.

• La Jeune fille et le nègre (scriptwriter and designer), éd. Actes Sud - L'An 2

1. Papa et Sophie, April 2008 {{ISBN|978-2-7427-7330-5}}
2. Babette et Sophie, September 2009 {{ISBN|978-2-7427-7959-8}}

• David les femmes et la mort (scriptwriter, designer, and colorist), trans. Hélène Robbe, Le Lombard, January 2012 {{ISBN|978-2-8036-3024-0}}
• Salto - L'histoire du marchand de bonbons qui disparut sous la pluie (designer and colorist), scriptwriter by Mark Bellido, Le Lombard, June 2016 {{ISBN|978-2-8036-3384-5}}
• Rosie et Moussa, Bayard Jeunesse

1. La rencontre, January 2018
2. Une lettre de Papa, May 2018

• Les Deux Vies de Pénélope (scriptwriter), Le Lombard, September 2019 {{ISBN|978-2-8036-7225-7}}. Finalist, Prix de la critique, 2020{{cite web |last1=Launois |first1=Bernard |title=Actualité Bande Dessinée : L’ACBD a choisi les cinq finalistes du Grand Prix de la Critique |url=http://www.auracan.com/Indiscretions/647-l-acbd-a-choisi-les-cinq-finalistes-du-grand-prix-de-la-critique-.html |website=www.auracan.com |access-date=20 March 2023 |language=fr |date=29 November 2019}}

• 2021, Prix Atomium, winner Prix Willy-Vandersteen with Zidrou, for La Baleine-bibliothèque (Le Lombard)
• 2015, nominated, Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
• 2014, nominated, Eisner Award for Best Painter/Digital Artist
• 2014, nominated, Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material
• 2013, nominated, Outstanding Graphic Novel, Ignatz Awards
• 2007, Best comic (Dutch language), Prix Saint-Michel: De Maagd en de Neger, papa en Sofie, Uitgeverij De Harmonie - Oog & BlikBelga (13 October 2007), "Gotlib récompensé à Bruxelles", LeSoir, {{in lang|fr}}

{{reflist}}

• "Judith Vanistendael", Le Soir, 29 January 2013.
• "Le crabe peut nous faire aimer la vie", Le Soir, 20 January 2012.
• "Repéré pour vous. Être humanitaire et maman", 24 heures, 11 September 2019.
• "Un choix que les autres n'acceptent pas", Metro, 4 September 2019.
• Beauvallet, Laurent, "Faire face au cancer", Ouest-France, 5 August 2012.
• Bessec, Alain, "Judith Vanistendael : La jeune fille et le nègre", Ouest-France, 8 June 2008.
• Blehache, Philippe, "Un jeu avec la mort", Sud Ouest, 19 June 2016.
• Boussin, O. "David les femmes et la mort", BD Gest' , 1 June 2012.
• Brunner, Vincent "BD : 'Les Deux Vies de Pénélope', mère et médecin humanitaire", Les Inrockuptibles, 13 September 2019.
• Couvreur, Daniel "La jeune fille et le nègre 2, Babette et Sophie", Le Soir, 25 September 2009.
• Couvreur, Daniel & Vanistendael, Judith (interview), "L’Odyssée, terriblement humaine", Le Soir, 14 September 2019.
• Dauphinais-Pelletier, Camille, "David, les femmes et la mort", La Nouvelle (Sherbrooke), 4 February 2015.
• Jarno, Stéphane, "Les Deux Vies de Pénélope, Judith Vanistendael", Télérama, 5 October 2019.
• Le Saux, Laurence, "BD : Judith Vanistendael tisse la toile d'une Pénélope moderne et aventureuse", Télérama, 10 September 2019.
• Le Saux, Laurence, "Salto" de Judith Vanistendael ou la double face d'un vendeur de bonbons", Télérama, 26 June 2016.
• Milette, J. "Salto", BD Gest' , 15 September 2016.
• O.V.V., "Les Deux Vies de Pénélope", Le Vif, 12 September 2019.
• P.V., "À bras-le-corps", Aujourd'hui en France, 30 June 2016.
• S.T., "Les deux vies de Pénélope", Moustique, 18 September 2019.
• Salin, S. "Les deux vies de Pénélope", BD Gest' , 5 September 2019.
• Servin, Lucie, "Les Deux Vies de Pénélope : Ulysse au foyer", Les Cahiers de la bande dessinée, no. 9, October–December 2019, p. 163.
• Van Vaerenbergh, Olivier "Derrière Pénélope: le journal de création de Judith Vanistendael", Le Vif, 17 September 2019.
• Van Vaerenbergh, Olivier, "Derrière Pénélope", Le Vif, 12 September 2019.

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Category:1974 births

Category:Living people

Category:Belgian comics writers

Category:Belgian comics artists

Category:Belgian graphic novelists

Category:Belgian illustrators

Category:21st-century Belgian educators

Category:21st-century Belgian women educators

Category:People from Leuven

Category:Belgian children's book illustrators

Category:Belgian women children's book illustrators

Category:Belgian women illustrators

Category:Belgian female comics writers

Category:Belgian female comics artists