The Crab with the Golden Claws, Album à Colorier #2 Illustration (Casterman, 1944)

Who doesn't remember the mythical visual of Tintin and Captain Haddock's frenzied race through the maze of a Moroccan souk, under the astonished eyes of an orange merchant and other strollers in that typical North African market atmosphere?
The original illustration on offer, 100% in Hergé's hands, dates from 1944, and is the famous variation of the drawing used in the 1941 black-and-white edition of The Crab with the Golden Claws.
Known for the perfectionism of his drawings, Hergé wanted to give more depth to this 1944 variation, which he published a few years later.
After more than 80 years, this world-famous visual still presents an unsolved mystery in Hergé's work: who is this character seen from behind, at the bottom of the illustration? In the manner of great painters like Rubens or Rembrandt, who depicted the donors of commissioned works in their paintings, Hergé envisioned the inclusion a mystery character who would allow the reader to slip into the scene, and join in the action. This premium and large original illustration of Tintin's adventures was published on numerous occasions around the world between 1947 and the end of the 70s by the famous Casterman publishing house.
This graphic masterpiece, created in 1944, Hergé's iconic first period, and so rare that originals are almost impossible to obtain, is undoubtedly part of the world's cultural and visual heritage, a timeless and emblematic witness to a scene that has marked generations of readers of Tintin's adventures. Accompanied by a certificate of authentication of Hergé's works, bearing the reference 2015/67.