Histoire sans paroles

Frans Masereel’s Histoire sans paroles (1920–present, Éditions du sablier) is a landmark wordless novel, told entirely through a sequence of stark, expressionistic woodcuts. Published as a single, powerful issue, it follows a solitary protagonist’s journey through a modern city, capturing the alienation and vitality of urban life in the early 20th century. Masereel’s singular vision—as both writer and artist—established the graphic novel’s potential for silent, cinematic storytelling, influencing generations of sequential artists. This series matters as a foundational work of the wordless narrative tradition, a raw, poetic testament to the power of images alone.