France, court sentences artist who painted an erotic Tintin

In France, an artist, Xavier Marabout, who for years has been revising the stories of Tintin, a very popular French comic book character created by Hergé, setting them in the paintings of Edward Hopper to create singular mashups with an erotic flavor (Tintin is in fact always accompanied by more or less clothed pin-ups), has been condemned by a court for these very works of his: the court, in fact, did not recognize Marabout’sparodistic intent .

But let’s go in order: the series of works featuring Tintin as the protagonist began in 2012, and the fact that they have an erotic connotation was not appreciated by the company that manages the commercial exploitation of the character (the company Tintinimaginatio, formerly Moulinsart), which therefore sued the artist, on charges of counterfeiting and unfair and parasitic competition. In the first instance, the Rennes court had agreed with Marabout, recognizing the humorous intent of the paintings, pointing out the characteristics of parody, namely the immediate identification of the original, thus the subject being parodied, and the intentional element, thus making people laugh or smile without causing damage to the reputation or honor of the parodied. The lower court acknowledged that “the humorous effect is constituted by the incongruity of the situation with respect to the sobriety if not the usual sadness of Hopper’s works and the absence of a female presence next to Tintin.” These features, then, should make those who see the works laugh.

However, the Rennes Court of Appeal, to which Tintinimaginatio appealed, thinks otherwise. The court of second instance, in a ruling last June 4, condemned Marabout because, it says, “parody must be appreciated in a restrictive way” and “requires an obvious humorous intention, preferably of a certain intensity: if smiling is enough, the mere pursuit of amused complicity with the reader or viewer is not enough, nor is a simple wink to the audience, or a visual shock.” For the Rennes judges, “the mere fact of introducing in his works, moreover without excess, powerful elements of sensuality (callipygian women, presence of a sex shop) or disruptive elements (Tintin tattoo, Dupond smoking, Tintin depressed, anxious, debilitated, reader of a gay magazine or even depicted while drinking a beer) cannot be considered as coming from a humorous intent.” In essence, if the challenged paintings “may elicit a smile (rather than laughter, moreover) or introduce amused complicity with the viewer, this does not mean that the defendant sought to provoke it in a spirit of mockery, even if only with polite teasing.” Marabout was ordered to pay compensation of 15,000 euros for damages suffered and a sum of 5,000 euros for interfering with Hergé’s work.

Both Tintinimaginatio and Xavier Marabout commented on the Rennes appellate judges’ decision. “This decision,” the company wrote in a statement, “strengthens Hergé’s rights holders in their determination to defend the integrity of his work and to fight against the abusive uses that are unfortunately regularly made of it. The Tintinimaginatio Society, the Hergé Foundation, and Fanny Vlamynck pledge to continue their efforts to defend Hergé’s copyrights and preserve the cultural heritage he left behind.”

“I am astonished by this decision of French law,” Marabout said instead, “which seems to go along with the European trend, which is very disturbing for freedom of expression that seems to be shrinking. I am therefore condemned for a humorous intention that is more intellectual than grotesque, more subtle than barracks. It is therefore on the basis of this misunderstanding that I take note of this decision and withdraw the images and publications of the condemned works.” Marabout will still be able to appeal in Cassation. In any case, there is already discussion in France about this decision, which could undermine the freedom of parody.

France, court sentences artist who painted an erotic Tintin

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