Hergé (Georges Remi) - Capitaine Tabac (Hommage à Magritte)
Original Illustration, 1968
India ink and graphite pencil on Bristol board
13.25" x 10" (33.7 cm x 25.4 cm)
Published in Le Lombard, 1968
This is an exceptional work within Hergé's graphic oeuvre: a surrealist-inspired homage to the Belgian painter René Magritte, created in 1968. The piece represents a rare intersection between the worlds of comic art and fine art, reflecting Hergé's lifelong admiration for Magritte, with whom he had collaborated as early as 1928 in the Brussels avant-garde magazine Variétés.
The Composition
At the center of this meticulously rendered illustration stands Captain Haddock, the beloved temper-prone seaman of the Tintin series. He is depicted in his characteristic blue sweater and black cap, pipe clenched firmly in his teeth. But here, the familiar gives way to the philosophical. The composition is a direct visual dialogue with Magritte's most famous work, La trahison des images (1928-29)—better known as "Ceci n'est pas une pipe."
In Magritte's masterpiece, a realistically painted pipe is accompanied by the inscription: "Ceci n'est pas une pipe." The painting challenges the viewer to consider the difference between an object and its representation. Hergé, with characteristic wit and subtlety, transforms this conceptual puzzle into a tribute both affectionate and profound.
Surrounding Captain Haddock, Hergé has rendered multiple iterations of the captain's iconic pipe—some realistic, others abstracted, floating in a dreamlike space reminiscent of Magritte's levitating objects. The pipes exist as both themselves and as representations of themselves, echoing the Magrittean tension between image and reality. Haddock himself appears slightly outsized, almost sculptural, as if he too has stepped into a surrealist canvas where the laws of physics yield to the logic of dreams.
The composition is executed with Hergé's signature ligne claire (clear line) precision, yet the subject matter pushes the boundaries of his typical narrative-driven work. Here, the image does not tell a story—it poses a question. It is a meditation on representation, on the nature of objects, and on the very act of seeing.
Historical Context
Created in 1968, this illustration was published in Le Lombard, the prestigious Belgian publishing house behind the journal Tintin. It was a period of artistic reflection for Hergé; the Tintin adventures were reaching their conclusion (the following year would see the publication of Tintin and the Picaros), and Hergé was increasingly engaged with the broader artistic currents of the 20th century. His admiration for Magritte, a fellow Belgian and a giant of surrealism, finds its fullest expression in this unique composition.
The work stands apart from Hergé's production for the Tintin albums. It is not a panel from an adventure, nor a character study for a forthcoming book. It is a standalone artistic statement—a graphic essay on the themes that preoccupied one of the great painters of the age, filtered through the visual language of one of the great cartoonists.
Condition: Excellent. Light handling wear. Ink and graphite fully intact. Paper clean and stable.