'Nic et Nac', 1929.
Jeanne Hovine was a Belgian comédienne, who is best known under her stage name Anne-Marie Ferrières. Although the centenarian devoted her entire life to theater and radio, she made her debut in the field of comics. As the creator of the newspaper comic strip 'Les Exploits de Nic et Nac' (1924-1934), together with her sister Laure Stengers-Hovine as writer, she holds historical significance for being the first known female Belgian comic artist.
Early life and career
Jeanne Laure Alvina Hovine was born on 7 February 1888 in Brussels, and her younger sister Laure saw the light on 25 June 1896. Their father was the doctor Jules Hovine, and both parents performed in amateur theaters. From a young age, Jeanne Hovine joined her mother on stage, playing a character named "Poil de Carotte", and recited poetry for audiences. During the World War I years, Laure also showed creative talent by writing children's stories, illustrated by Jeanne. In 1917, the sisters showed their work at the toy exhibition Exposition du Jouet Belge, and in the following year, they published 'Journal d'une Poupée Belge Pendant La Guerre' ("Diary of a Belgian Doll During the War") by commission of the Child Health Foundation. Also in 1918, their children's story collection 'Conte Sous-marin; Annette et Doric; Fanfreluche; Papillon, Roi de Ruthie' was published by Céline Dangotte. For the same publisher, Jeanne Hovine drew a series of ten aviation lithographs entitled 'En Aéroplane dans les Sept Ciels'.
'Conte Sous-marin'.
Nic et Nac
In 1924, the Hovine sisters were asked to create a weekly children's page for the Walloon newspaper Le Soir, resulting in the picture story series 'Les Exploits de Nic et Nac' (1924-1934). The main characters are inseparable twins: Nic the boy and Nac the girl. Both wear checkers-striped clothing. Laure wrote the heavy text captions, with Jeanne illustrating them. The comics were a huge succes, collected in eleven book volumes by L'Expansion Belge from 1926 on. 'Nic et Nac' were also translated into several languages. According to reports of the time, the Belgian king Albert I also enjoyed reading 'Nic et Nac' in the papers.
During this period, Jeanne Hovine also exhibited her paintings, for instance at the Cercle Artistique et Littéraire in Brussels (1924).
'Les Exploits de Nic et Nac' (Le Soir, 4 August 1927).
Further life years and death
After her marriage to Maxime Stengers, Laure Hovine was credited under the name Laure Stengers-Hovine. The couple had two children, Anne-Marie and Jean. Eventually, Laure became more preoccupied with her family and passed away in Ixelles on 14 september 1983. Her son Jean Stengers (1922-2002) became a well-known historian.
Jeanne, who remained single her entire life, started a successful second career in theater. Under her stage name Anne-Marie Ferrières, she performed with the Cercle Artistique. Starting in 1934, she could also be heard on the first public radio station INR (nowadays RTBF radio), where hosted a children's show, performed poetry and starred in plays. As a stage actress, she shared the stage with many legendary Walloon actors of the time, such as Jules Berry, Berthe Bovy, Fernand Ledoux and Madeleine Renaud. Appearing in plays by Maurice Maeterlinck, Michel de Ghelderode and Paul Claudel, she starred in all the big theaters in Brussels, including the Royal Park Theatre and the Théâtre National de Belgique. She additionally appeared in the feature films 'Paix sur les Champs' (1970) and 'Isabelle Devant le Désir' (1975).
After a long career in the entertainment world, the 85-year old actress received the 1973 l'Ève du Théâtre award for her performance as Queen Mary in the play 'L'Abdication'. She still didn't think of her pension, though, and kept performing on stage until she was 92 and working for the radio until she was 100. Jeanne Hovine died in 1992 in Ixelles, reaching the age of 104.
'Les Exploits de Nic et Nac' (Le Soir, 17 March 1927).
Legacy
While Hovine's career in comics lasted a mere decade and was just a footnote in her more successful stage career, she was still the first female Belgian comic artist. In that regard, she paved the way for later creators like Madeleine Gérard, Jenny Collette, Marie Jaminet, Minou, Suzanne André, Liliane Funcken, Suzzy Bailleux, Dominique Gillain, May Claerhout, Antoinette Collin, Greet Liégeois, Magda Seron, Chantal de Spiegeleer, Carine de Brab, Séraphine, Jeanine Rahir, Renée Rahir, Marie-José Sacré, Cécile Schmitz, Marianne Duvivier, Erika Raven, Suzanne Rosenberg, Viviane Nicaise, Virginie Van Der Gught, Ilah, Judith Vanistendael, Ephameron, Sacha Eckes, Dominique Goblet, Shamisa Debroey, Inne Haine, Delphine Frantzen, Charlotte Dumortier, Sarina Ahmad, Leen van Hulst, Chrischa Van de Voorde, Nina Jacqmin and more.
'Nic et Nac'.