LA TRISTESSE DE PIERRE
By Henri Crabières
A devil in the dark. A study of grief and unstable realities.
In La tristesse de Pierre, Henri Crabières explores the architecture of depression. Following a family tragedy, siblings Pierre and Clémence are forced into a claustrophobic existence within a dilapidated apartment. For Pierre, the trauma physically warps his surroundings—walls bend, perspectives collapse, and the environment itself becomes as unstable as his mind.
As his anxiety consumes him, the unimaginable occurs: a devil begins to visit him at night. While Pierre slips further into these hallucinations, his sister Clémence acts as his anchor. Balancing a gruelling job with the burden of care, she fights to pull him back to the surface.
Created during a year-long residency at Studio Fidèle, this is Crabières’ most ambitious work to date. Moving away from his usual limited palette, he employs a rich, frank colour spectrum to make the psychological distortion feel dangerously real.
November 2025
First edition of 1,500 copies
17 x 24 cm, 250 pages
Modified 4PMS Offset
French, with English translation
About the Artist
Henri Crabières is a French comic artist and illustrator known for his fluid, shifting approach to narrative. A graduate of ENSAD Paris (École des Arts Décoratifs), he first gained attention with his self-published fanzines before releasing acclaimed titles such as Chausse-trape and Hubert et Alexis.
Crabières’ style is defined by a "distorted familiarity"—he often bends perspective and anatomy to reflect the internal states of his characters. Drawing inspiration from the surrealism of Olivier Schrauwen and the spontaneity of Claire Braud, his work blurs the line between the mundane and the fantastic. La tristesse de Pierre marks a shift in his practice, moving from his signature bichromy into a vibrant, full-colour exploration of psychological landscapes.
