Benjamin Rabier

Benjamin Rabier was a French illustrator, comic artist, and animator, best known for creating the iconic Laughing Cow Cheese logo and for his pioneering work in animal comics. He was born in 1864 in La Roche-sur-Yon, Vendée, and began his career as a newspaper illustrator after meeting political cartoonist Caran d'Ache. Rabier's first children's album, *Tintin-Lutin* (1898), featured human characters, but he soon shifted to animal protagonists, which became his signature. His most famous creations include the duck Gédéon and his illustrations for *Le roman de Renart*. Rabier's work influenced later artists such as Hergé and Edmond-François Calvo. He died in 1939 at Faverolles, Indre. Over his career, he contributed to numerous publications, including *La Jeunesse illustrée* and *Le Pêle-Mêle*, and his legacy endures through his whimsical, expressive animal characters that helped shape the European comic tradition.