Thérèse #[nn]

Jean-Philippe Stassen's Thérèse opens with a quietly arresting image: a young dark-haired girl gazes out from behind a green-framed window set into a heavy brick wall, while the glass reflects — or reveals — a sweeping African savanna bathed in a warm sunset glow. The contrast between the solid, confining architecture and that vast, luminous landscape beyond (or within) the pane makes for a cover full of longing and quiet tension. Published by Dupuis in 1999, this Belgian album showcases Stassen's understated yet evocative draughtsmanship from line to color.