![\"Maurizio](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/quarello_photo.jpg\" "\\"Maurizio")
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Without further ado, here is Cris. Enjoy. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cris<\/strong><\/font>: I have already discussed Maurizio Quarello’s<\/a><\/strong> books here<\/a><\/strong> and here<\/a><\/strong> and, from what I’ve told you, I am sure my personal admiration for this artist from Piedmont is quite clear. And, based on all the recognitions he has obtained, it seems I’m not the only one.<\/p>\n Well, after the other interviews I conducted with some of the teachers at Ars In Fabula, I had the good fortune to interview Maurizio as well, even if not in Macerata. Though I wasn’t surrounded by the familiar flights of steps typical of Macerata, despite the absence of that peculiar fairytale-like atmosphere, I have to say that my aquaintance with Maurizio widely filled any possible absence. In fact, other than being the great illustrator he is, Maurizio is a very pleasant person, able to put you at ease without many ceremonies. Nothing seems to escape his biting glance, not a gesture nor a movement and, meanwhile, he gives the sensation that all information is carefully registered, weighted up and filed to then be used at the right moment. This meditative air, which from time to time seems to completely absorb him, goes along with a pleasure-seeking and playful spirit. To fully understand this, it’s more than worth it to observe his works a bit closer.<\/p>\n Let’s find out more about this nice illustrator…<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: Is there a place from your childhood you\u2019re still bound to?<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: Sure, it\u2019s my grandparents\u2019 house in Monferrato. It was the last house of the village with woods all around and, of course, our favourite hobby was to explore the woods and the abandoned houses in the area.<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: Were you a good reader when you were a child? If so, what did you usually read?<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: I read mostly fairy tales. My favourites were the ones with ogres, devils, and witches.<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: Which, if any, is the first book you still remember?<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: The first books I remember clearly are the mythical Quindici<\/em>. Another fundamental book has been Treasure Island<\/em>, which still is one of my favourites.<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: Can you tell us your first memories about drawing?<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: I discovered I liked drawing when I was at my last year at nursery school. I never wanted to stop. I drew monsters, medieval knights, and animals — mostly eagles.<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: Which studies did you take?<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: At secondary school, I studied advertising \/ graphics arts. Everything was different then: we worked based on Bauhaus\u2019 rules; we drew letterings by hand (!!); the study of composition was fundamental. These are all skills that are still very useful to me. After this, I studied architecture for a while at college, but I got no university degree, as I couldn\u2019t pass scientific exams. But I have to say those studies revealed themselves as very useful in my work as an illustrator. After this, I studied at IED<\/a><\/strong> and then followed several illustration workshops.<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: When did you understand you wanted to be an illustrator?<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: To be honest, I believe I had always known it. Since I was a kid, I have always wanted to get a job that had to do with drawing. And then, when I discovered children\u2019s book publishing \u201cin the Douzou<\/a><\/strong> style,\u201d I had no more doubt that this had to be my job.<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: What were your first moves in that direction?<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: I imagine what most people do: many interviews at specialised shows and in advertising companies, many competitions, and—in the end—the first published projects.<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: Were there difficult moments? If so, how did you overcome them? <\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: Of course there were! After a year spent drawing and preparing projects that no publisher or artistic director wanted (and without earning a penny), I had almost decided to abandon and start looking for a \u201cserious job.\u201d Then, suddenly, everything changed: in the space of one month, I was told I would have three books published and, from then on, it was all downhill. I believe you can overcome difficulties only by working a lot. You have to be stubborn, and you mustn\u2019t give up at the first difficulties.<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: Are there masters of illustration, or of painting, that particularly inspired you over the years?<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: Well, I should make a huge list! As for illustrators, I\u2019ll just mention the two that, in my opinion, are the bigger ones: Wolf Erlbruch<\/a><\/strong> and Michael Sowa<\/a><\/strong>. If I have to mention some of the big masters of painting who inspired me (let\u2019s say that I shamelessly plagiarized them), I can name: Bruegel<\/a><\/strong>, Bosch<\/a><\/strong>, Rosso Fiorentino<\/a><\/strong>, Giorgione<\/a><\/strong>, Grunewald<\/a><\/strong>, Leonardo<\/a><\/strong>, Friedrich<\/a><\/strong>, Dix<\/a><\/strong>, Grosz<\/a><\/strong>, Hokusai<\/a><\/strong>, Warhol<\/a><\/strong>, Goya<\/a><\/strong>, Degas<\/a><\/strong>, Hopper<\/a><\/strong>, and God knows how many others.<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: In what way do other visual arts enter your imagination, if they do at all?<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: Great cinema does have an enormous appeal on my work. I see a great number of movies, and it\u2019s quite natural that I pour all this into my illustrations. Therefore, cuts and framings, lights, colours, and characters I see on the screen pass on to the sheet.<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: Your works are extremely versatile, and you pass from one illustrative register to another with great ease and with results that are always surprising. Is there one style you feel you can claim as your own?<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: I don\u2019t know. I would say there is no particular style. I\u2019m not interested in being \u201crecognizable,\u201d and I\u2019m horrified at the idea of always making the same things. Let\u2019s say that I\u2019d rather tend to have a grotesque\/ironic approach to subjects.<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: Is there a medium you prefer?<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: Maybe acrylic, though used in many different ways — though, lately I have used other techniques, like Indian ink, pencil, and oil colours, and I had great fun. As soon as possible, I would like to try making books using xylography and collage. It doesn\u2019t stop here!<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: When you start a new project, do you follow a precise outline or do you follow inspiration?<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: First, impact to me is fundamental: a text must immediately \u201cshake\u201d me; I must immediately have images forming on my mind, colour matching, and characters must materialize. In short, what I mean is that the book, for me, is born in five minutes or it isn’t at all. <\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: What is your biggest challenge while illustrating a text?<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: Finding the exact balance between words and images. There are texts that need to be matched with \u201csoft\u201d illustrations; others (maybe weaker ones) that need to be sustained and enriched by illustrations. At times, it\u2019s fair being a bit didactic, while with others you need to be decidedly more courageous in inserting your point of view.<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: How important is the unsaid in illustration?<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: Very much. It\u2019s fundamental to allude, let the reader guess, telling through symbols and external cross-references as well.<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: How about white space?<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: Very much. Both inside the illustration and in the general architecture of a book. It\u2019s necessary to give illustrations breath and rhythm, and the alternating of full and empty is the best tool to obtain it.<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: I had the chance to see (and review<\/a><\/strong>) your wonderful version of Blue Beard<\/em>, published by Milan Jeunesse. There is, in your illustrations to this text, a quality I shall call movie-like — in the framings, in the movement you give images. It\u2019s an album in motion. Am I wrong?<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: No, you\u2019re not. This book, more than others, owes a lot to my passion for cinema. I have used several cinematographic expedients, such as reverse shots, to let the reader into the book. <\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: The other thing that struck me in Blue Beard<\/em> is the use of colour, as well as some of the settings and the way you play with light, that I would almost call “Hopper<\/a><\/strong>-esque.”<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: Hopper is one of the masters I admire the most and that I often cite in my books. The use of colour he has and the theory of shades he built fascinate me enormously. I keep studying his works, and then I try to reinterpret it to enrich my illustrations.<\/p>\n Cris<\/font><\/strong>: Some landscape shots make me think of the great British romantic painters…<\/font><\/p>\n Maurizio<\/font><\/strong>: To be honest, I got inspired by German Romanticism—Friedrich<\/a><\/strong>, in particular—and Degas<\/a><\/strong>, together with ![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/cristiana1a-right.jpg\")
Jules<\/font><\/strong>: It’s time to welcome again the very smart Italian blogger with kickin’-good taste, Cristiana Clerici<\/a><\/strong> (pictured right), for another spotlight on international illustration. Today, she’s interviewing Italian illustrator Maurizio Quarello<\/a><\/strong>, pictured above, who talks about his work, what being stubborn will get you in this field, the appeal of cinema with regard to his work, his inspirations, and how his books initially only get a five-minute window with him. (I love that part.) As always, I am grateful that Cris stops by here to show me and 7-Imp readers what is happening in contemporary picture books over in Europe. To get the low-down on what I call Cristiana Clerici’s International Spotlights, visit this page<\/a><\/strong> of the site. I thank her kindly for contributing today. I shall kick back with my coffee and take in their conversation. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Effets Secondaires<\/em>, and…<\/font><\/strong><\/center><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/Barbe_bleue_32small.jpg\")
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