The first issue of La Semaine de Suzette, a magazine aimed at young girls, mainly from wealthy families, appeared 121 years ago. The magazine featured the adventures of a young woman named Bécassine, created by the editor-in-chief at the time, Jacqueline Rivière, who was inspired by her own maid. Bécassine was illustrated by cartoonist Joseph Pinchon. At the time, phylactères, or comic bubbles, had not yet gained popularity in France. They were introduced in Sam et Sap in 1908 and gradually became popular, especially thanks to Alain Saint-Ogan and his series Zig et Puce, and Paul Winkler with Le Journal de Mickey. Bécassine would only take the train in motion much later, in 1959. Originally from Picardie, then from Brittany, Bécassine, whose real name, assigned later, is Annaïk Labornez, fits into the historical context of the exodus to the big cities. She thus tries her luck in the capital, becoming the maid of the marquise de Grand-Air, then a nurse, among other activities. Rejected by some Bretons because of her naive side, and sometimes reduced by her detractors to a mere mocking caricature, Bécassine remains a character, a product of her time, created with good intentions. Indeed, she can sometimes be off the mark, particularly at the beginning, and has nothing to do with a French Captain America, but she turns out to be resourceful, optimistic, and deeply kind. Through her adventures, she does not limit herself to the figure of a mere maid: teacher, traveler, adventurer, engaged figure in World War I... She is attentive to others and particularly attached to animals. Moreover, in order to gain autonomy, she passed her driver's license in 1927, a step still uncommon for a woman at the time, especially in her social circle. Bécassine is especially a pioneer of the 9th art, or comics. She is among the first heroines of comics, well before Bobette, Natacha, or Yoko Tsuno. A precursor of the clear line, she is among the inspirations for Hergé in the creation of Tintin. She even had a live-action adaptation in 2018—although it was a flop. Today, Bécassine is an integral part of the French cultural landscape, her popularity having been notably revived by another art: song. The young woman has seen a lot of the world during her long career, from her native Picardie to Paris, passing through Provence, the Basque Country, the Alps, as well as the United States and Turkey. If she has, to our knowledge, never stayed in Charente-Maritime, it is now a fact. Not for the time of a comic book adventure, but through an exhibition dedicated to her. It is the small commune of Archiac that is behind this initiative, for two days, on the occasion of the Days of Heritage, to which is added a third day reserved for schoolchildren. In a room located on the main square, it is hard to miss: a polyester Bécassine, cut and painted especially for the occasion, marks the entrance to the exhibition. However, there is a link between the region and the cartoonist Joseph Pinchon: for a magazine, he indeed created a panel inspired by the legend of the eel of Pons, a commune located not far from Archiac. Through the exhibition, the history of the publication of Bécassine's albums is retraced in chronological order, accompanied by a few objects. Some albums, mainly from the 1980s editions, are also available for consultation, thanks notably to loans from the local library. Handmade dolls, made by the Mélusine workshop at the initiative of the local Popular Aid, are also presented and available for sale. They are not without evoking the famous fabric dolls. However, the main part of the exhibition is a series of paintings by the Herblinois painter Claude Ermisse. Retired, she took up painting only five years ago, joining the classes of the Gobinière workshops. Last year, the group created works around the same theme: movement. Inspired by the exhibition dedicated to the Japanese painter Hokusai and his famous Great Wave, Claude Ermisse chose to take it up in her own way, incorporating Bécassine, perched on a boat in a delicate balance position. With the arrival of summer and the break in classes, Claude decided to extend the exercise, confident in the success of Hokusai's reinterpretation with the public, by appropriating the works of great names in painting, mainly from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. After all, it is often through copying that one learns. Not knowing much about art history at first, she gradually became immersed in the discovery of different artistic movements, from expressionism to cubism, and their representatives. For each selected painting, the artist reflects on how to incorporate Bécassine, either by adding her to the scene or by having her take the place of an existing character. Bécassine as a dairy farmer seems an obvious choice, as does in The Liberty Leading the People. In The Wheat Threshers by Courbet, Bécassine replaces another woman with a white headdress to sort the grains. She then takes a little rest in The Noonday by Vincent van Gogh. Claude Ermisse does not like The Scream by Munch, which terrified her. However, she finds it amusing to bring her own interpretation, staging Bécassine in the background, while her famous umbrella has accidentally flown away. A way for the artist to de-dramatize. The story continues in Monet's Water Lilies, where the young woman finds her umbrella again, which she observes from the bridge. Although the paintings are not necessarily all linked to each other, one can see there a nod to the comic strip, itself made up of a succession of images. After a while, she realizes that, except for The Wave, she has so far only reproduced European paintings. However, we know that Bécassine has traveled a lot throughout her adventures, well beyond the old continent. She therefore tackles American Gothic by Grant Wood, as well as a work by the Colombian painter Botero, famous for his voluptuous figures, which are not without recalling, ultimately, this dear Bécassine. This does not prevent the character from gaining even more weight in order to be on a level with her stage partners. In her desire to close her series with the year 2000, Claude Ermisse turns to Samy Briss, a French-Israeli painter and engraver born in Romania, now 96 years old. She describes his art as particularly fresh. The painting Melody of Five, as its title indicates, features five women. Their features are round, to the point that Bécassine can easily take the place of one of them. A visitor to the exhibition confides that all these scenes make her think of Where is Charlie? Between us, in the case of these paintings, it is rather about looking for the elephant in the room... without wanting to offend Bécassine. Except for the imposing wave of Hokusai, Claude Ermisse has decided to reproduce the classical works in a square format—reminiscent of the comic strip's gaufrier—which required a re-framing. If she tries to be as faithful as possible to the original works, going so far as to joke about having missed a career as a forger, she paints each of her canvases entirely in acrylic, without tracing the originals. And especially, without using artificial intelligence, she insists. In only three months, she creates no less than 21 paintings, the result of a full-time, even intensive work: almost ten hours a day, seven days a week, in her apartment. She describes herself as an amateur painter, finding a lot of pleasure and fulfillment in this activity and not seeking any profit from it. Her paintings are therefore not for sale, to the great disappointment of some visitors to the exhibition, collectors and fans of the comic strip. Some members of her family have already reserved several, including the one inspired by Hokusai. She also reserves others for her painting teacher. If the artist has developed a fondness for the character, almost giving the impression of being almost obsessed with it, she has yet never read her adventures in her youth, although she had a doll. It was mainly her mother who liked Bécassine. Every time she went to visit her, she contributed to rebuilding her collection. Living in the Nantes region, the painter is, like Bécassine, quite far from home, on the occasion of this exhibition. Véronique Barbot, the mayor of Archiac, who is also her ex-sister-in-law, offered her to participate in the exhibition "Bécassine débarque à Archiac" after discovering her little book "Bécassine au musée," self-published in a hundred copies, in which Claude comments on each of the works and shares some anecdotes about the originals. With her husband, Véronique Barbot undertook research on the history of Bécassine. The main goal was to pay homage to this female figure of heritage, more committed than one might think, but also to contribute, on their scale, to introducing her to an entirely new generation. The mayor has also met Chantal Goya, the singer of the famous song Bécassine, whose daughter she met on the school benches. As it turns out, the world is small. The singer had even considered coming in person to the exhibition, but her tour did not allow her to travel, so she recorded a video a few days ago to promote it. About a hundred people came on the first day of the exhibition, some enthusiasts even coming from Angoulême. A first for the small commune, notes the mayor. If Claude Ermisse leaves with her paintings under her arm, the rest of the exhibition will continue permanently at the municipal library. It will also serve as a teaching resource for the students of the different primary school classes in the city throughout the year.