Bob De Moor would create several watercolor paintings throughout his career. For many amongst you that won’t be such a surprise as this side-hobby was also documented in the must-have-but-now-deleted Bob De Moor biography “Bob De Moor. 40 ans de bandes dessinées, 35 ans aux côtés d’Hergé” which Le Lombard released in 1986. In the De Moor archives we found quite a few of these paintings. Today we present you a painting from 1947, the year in which Bob De Moor saw his career launched as he was creating more and more series for such publications as Kleine Zondagsvriend, NV De Gids, Nieuws van de Dag, Zweep, Week-end etc..
The painting is signed ‘R. De Moor ’47’ and has never seen the public eye until now. It shows a very old, tear down house with a straw roof and a water pit at the edge of a forest (on the right). It’s set in late Fall/Winter, recognizable at the first glance through the leafless three. The wind is being evoked by the position of the three (bending right) and the stratocumulus shaped clouds drifting from left to right. On the path you’ll also see a small pool of (frozen?) water.
The 1947 painting we show you here might also remind you of the setting you see in the 1947 album “Le mystère du vieux château”. Page 28 of that old album for instance also shows a house with a straw roof and the house has the same bended entrance. Did Bob De Moor create this painting based on his work for the album or was this painting created before the album saw the light of day? We will never know of course. But one thing is sure, the artistic elements in the painting and in the album refer quite a bit to the style Walt Disney had been using in his 1937 movie “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. A style which Bob De Moor adored back then. We’ll get back to Walt Disney in the future when we show you some pictures of a trip Bob De Moor made to one of the Walt Disney theme parks.
Speaking of “Le mystère du vieux château”, the Dutch reprint is not ready yet. We’ll publish an article when it’s out and normally we’ll also have an article up with the team that worked on the restoration of this album.