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Carll Cneut: Belgium ⋆ Illustrator

2014; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 52; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/bkb.2014.0084

1918-6983

Samantha Christensen,

Diverse Academia and Research Topics

Carll CneutBelgium ⋆ Illustrator Samantha Christensen "I can't help fiddling with my pictures, day in, day out, almost like a man possessed." Carll Cneut Born in 1969 and the eldest of three children, Carll Cneut grew up in a small village on the Belgian-French border. From an early age, it was clear that his life would be dedicated to art, and Cneut studied graphic design at the Saint-Lucas Arts School in Gent. After a successful academic career at Saint-Lucas, he went on to work as an art director at a public agency, and the publication of his first illustrative success, Varkentjes van Marsepein [Piglets of Marzipan] (1996), marked the beginning of his career in children's book illustrations. Collaborating with Flemish author Geert De Kockere, Cneut went on to illustrate six more picturebooks, and by 2000 he was illustrating full time. Currently, he teaches at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, and he contributes frequently to many children's and adult magazines. He was also a member of the International Jury for Illustrators Exhibition at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in 2011. Rather than focusing on publishing a large amount of books in short periods of time, Cneut focuses primarily on the quality of his work, often taking painstaking measures in order to ensure absolute perfection. His artistic style pushes the boundaries of children's book illustrations. Often incorporating cut-out images from other print media in his illustrations, Cneut says that he likes to "show that those characters have a life before the book." He is also passionate about color, and before beginning his illustrations he chooses a palette that complements and enhances the mood and theme of the story. While he adapts color to suit the story he is illustrating, he manages to project consistent elements of mystery and darkness through his images, and draws readers into the depths of visual literary experience. Over the course of his career, Cneut has earned an impressive number of awards, including a Gouden Uil, the Woutertje Pieterse Prize, two Boekenpauw awards, three Boekenpluims, and a Zilveren Penseel. His picturebooks have also been translated into thirty languages, thereby influencing children from all over the world. Selected Bibliography • De blauwe vogel [The Blue Bird]. Ed. Maurice Maeterlinck and Do van Ranst. Wielsbeke: De Eenhoorn, 2011. Print. Google Scholar • Jack and the Seven Deadly Giants. Text Sam Swope. New York: Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux, 2004. Print. Google Scholar • Hetgeheim van de keel van de nachtegaal [The Secret of the Nightingale's Throat]. Text Edward van Vendel. Wielsbeke: De Eenhoorn, 2008. Print. Google Scholar • Ten Moonstruck Piglets. Text Lindsay Lee Johnson. New York: Clarion, 2011. Print. Google Scholar • Varkentjes van Marsepein [Piglets of Marzipan]. Text Geert De Kockere. Wielsbeke: De Eenhoorn, 1996. Print. [End Page 9] Google Scholar Copyright © 2014 Bookbird, Inc.