British illustrator Raymond Briggs has died aged 88, his family announced on Wednesday. His album “Le Bonhomme de neige” has enchanted generations of children all over the world.
“We know that Raymond’s books have touched millions of people around the world, who will be saddened to hear this news,” his family said in a statement.
“Le Bonhomme de neige” (“The Snowman”), an album without text published in 1978 delicately drawn in colored pencils, is his best-known work, sold 5.5 million copies worldwide. Its hero is a young boy with red hair whose snowman built with his hands comes to life.
Adapted into an animated film in 1982 and presented with an introduction by singer David Bowie, the film and its unforgettable music have remained associated with the magic of Christmas ever since. “He cherished the drawings of his admirers, especially those of children, and hung them on the wall of his studio,” his family said.
>> To see: singer David Bowie’s introduction to the animated film “The Snowman” (in English)
Biting humor
“All those close to him knew his irreverent humor, which could be biting when it came to power. He had liked the editorial in The Guardian newspaper which described him as an ‘iconoclastic national treasure'”, she added.
Briggs’ most famous works are inspired by his life and are nostalgic for the England of his childhood, in the 1930s and 1940s in Wimbledon, south-west London. His work evokes 20th century British social history, reflecting social class, education and changing politics.
“Sacred Santa Claus” (1973) was Raymond Briggs’ first major success. In this album, Santa Claus is an irascible old man who hates the cold and the snow, and finds it very difficult to deliver presents.
“Fungus the Bogeyman,” another 1977 classic, features an unsavory creature plagued by existential anxieties. The illustrator said he was inspired by himself – a “miserable, disillusioned and depressed middle-aged man” – to create this character.
More recently, in 2019, Raymond Briggs evoked aging and death in a melancholic album (“Time for Lights Out”). He also collaborated with The Oldie, a magazine created as a “joyful alternative to a press obsessed with youth and celebrity”.
afp/aq