Pascin — Joann Sfar

Pascin, a biography of the noted Jewish modernist painter (Julius Mordecai Pincas, known as Pascin, March 31, 1885â€"June 5, 1930), is Joann Sfar's most personal and important work. Pascin is portrayed by Sfar both as a kindred spirit and an aesthetic revolutionary struggling to redefine an art form. Sfar revels in the artist's celebration of all things corporeal in the world of art. Though the story is drenched in sex, it is never eroticized. Created in a direct and immediate drawing style, Sfar focuses more on the artist's personal and sexual life than on his art, and brings Pascin to life as the ultimate bohemian.

Joann Sfar is considered one of the most important artists of the new wave of European comics. He is the author and artist on a great number of acclaimed graphic novels including The Rabbi's Cat, Klezmer: Tales of the Wild East, Vampire Loves, and Dungeon. He wrote and directed Gainsbourg: Une Vie Heroique, the biopic of the illustrious French songwriter and singer. The film was released in 2010 to international acclaim.