Revelations: The Art Of Max Bertolini (book review).

I came across Revelations: The Art of Max Bertolini quite by chance. I have a lot of Paper Tiger books in my collection but can’t claim to have them all. Bertolini was born in Milan, France. He always drew but got fed up with doing a degree in accounting and thought he would get into comic book illustration with the existing French “Nathan Never” comic strip. It took a few attempts, and its editor was impressed by how quickly he improved.

Bertolini learnt quickly and researched well, as you can tell from his spacecraft and people, aided by his own collection of favourite artists. Then he switched to covers and painting. He explains that he used his colour choices to create the desired mood and even gained popularity with the Diesel fashion brand.

Looking objectively at his colour choices, he certainly has them. I recognise some of his sources, but I’m not entirely sure if he got the legs of known animals early in his career. He claims to have created some impressive dragons. His work for a fashion house improved his use of fabrics. I’m less sure about digital metallics and tried to find more up-to-date work; after all, this book is over 20 years old.

Bertolini portrays himself as a global artist who fulfils commissions. An oil painting takes 2 weeks, and a digital painting 4 days; it probably still holds up.

If you’re missing any Paper Tiger books, add this one to your buying list—there are many good copies.

GF Willmetts

December 2024

(pub: Paper Tiger, 2003. 128 page illustrated large hardback. Price: varies. ISBN: 1-84340-225-4)

check out website: https://max_bertolini.artstation.com/