Hey everyone! Back at it again with a fun little blog post that is very near and dear to my heart. Growing up I was so in love with Madeline, the story of the red headed French girl in a yellow hat following Miss Clavel through the streets of Paris. I was infatuated with the story so much so that my family gifted me the books, dolls, and tea sets with her face on them and would begrudgingly watch the animated series when it was playing on television. You can imagine my absolute delight when we received an illustrative painting by Ludwig Bemelmans, the creator of my childhood best friend and obsession. The work depicts a figure standing in thin clothing in the middle of the street blown by wind and snow. The back of the painting displays a handwritten label that reads “Without the rugs which he had sold the poor rug merchant was very cold.” Bemelmans creates dynamic illustrations with lots of movement and expression, which is displayed throughout all his works.
He emigrated to the United States before the start of World War I, getting jobs in hotels where he landed at the Ritz Carleton. Throughout his time there, Bemelmans desired to become a cartoonist which eventually led to him creating The Thrilling Adventures of Count Bric A Brac. After this venture, he met May Massee of Viking Press who encouraged him to create children’s stories. From there, Bemelmans went on to create The Golden Basket, The Castle Number 9, and Quito Express. The Gold Basket was the first time that Madeline appeared, although her name was originally spelled Madeleine after his wife. The idea behind the Madeline books came from a trip to France with his family when he was struck by a truck while riding his bike. Bemelmans had to walk himself to the hospital. His surroundings made him think of his mother’s stories about life growing up in a convent school in Altotting, Germany. Surprisingly, Massee was not a fan and originally turned down Madeline, but even so the readers were in love with the books and were charmed by the characters. The book ended up winning Caldecott Honors with the sequel Madeline’s Rescue winning a Caldecott Medal in 1954. Bemelmans has created such lovable characters that have withstood the test of time and I’m just happy that I could see and hold an original work of his. If Bemelmans has left a mark on your life and you’re itching to own a piece of original art, be sure to check out our March Estate auction!
