Cartoon by Léon Van Roey.
Léon Van Roey, who signed with "Léon", was a Belgian graphic designer, stage designer, ceramist, illustrator and cartoonist. During the 1950s, he enjoyed some success, both in his home country and abroad. Van Roey's cartoons were printed in Germany, Denmark, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. Van Roey spent the majority of his life living in Denmark. He should not be confused with the British cartoonist Bill Asprey, who also signed with "Leon" at times.
Life and career
Léon Van Roey was born in 1921 in Antwerp, where he studied Decorative Arts at the Academy. In the 1940s, he became part of the "Jeune Peinture Belge" scene and made abstract-expressionist paintings and graphics inspired by the Cobra movement. Van Roey's work also appeared in the art magazine Cobra. For a while, Van Roey lived in Brussels, but in 1951 he briefly moved to Germany. He spent some time in Berlin and Hamburg, while publishing cartoons in magazines like Stern. In Berlin he also met his future wife. In 1952, he relocated to Denmark, where he spent the rest of his life. Van Roey was active in many creative fields, including ceramics and advertising illustrations. He designed posters, theatrical sets and furniture fabrics. Van Roey usually signed his more "serious" work with the pseudonym "Van Roy", but used his first name for his cartoons.
Cartoon signed "Leon", as published in the Hungarian Füles magazine in 1979.
Van Roey's cartoons mainly ran in the French-language press. In Belgium, they appeared in La Libre Belgique, Le Moustique, La Nation Belge, Le Patriote Illustré and Weekend, and in France they were printed in Le Canebière, Ici Paris, Noir et Blanc and Le Rire. Van Roey also experienced success outside of the francophone world. In Denmark, his cartoons appeared in the magazine Expressen, in Sweden in Se and in Hungary in the puzzle magazine Füles. From 1956 to 1959, they were also included in the annual 'Best Cartoons from Abroad' compilation books, published by Crown Publishing in New York. Léon Van Roey was a member of the International Community of Humorists. He once made a trip to Japan and captured his experiences in a graphic report.
Léon Van Roey died somewhere in the first half of the 1990s. He was survived by his wife Helga.
Cartoon signed "Leon", as published in the Hungarian Füles magazine on 15 February 1984.