Hugo Pratt's early work showcased at Aix-en-Provence comics festival exhibition

The Rencontres du 9ᵉ art festival in Aix-en-Provence presents "De Hugo Pratt à Corto Maltese. Un voyage dans l'imaginaire," an exhibition highlighting the Italian artist's creative development before his iconic character emerged. This display focuses on Pratt's formative period, revealing artistic influences and narrative techniques that would later define his celebrated Corto Maltese series. The festival, dedicated to the ninth art form of comics, provides the platform for this exploration of Pratt's early imagination and storytelling evolution. Visitors can examine works that demonstrate how the artist's visual language and thematic concerns developed prior to achieving international recognition through his sailor-adventurer protagonist. The exhibition offers insight into the creative process behind one of European comics' most enduring figures, tracing the origins of Pratt's distinctive style that would influence generations of graphic artists. By concentrating on this lesser-known phase of his career, the presentation illuminates the foundations upon which Pratt built his later success and artistic legacy.