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Harry Potter à l’École des Sorciers

Published for the first time in October 1998 by Gallimard Jeunesse, Harry Potter à L’École des Sorciers sported this illustration of Harry, Ron, Hermione (and Hedwig!) by Jean-Claude Götting. He says: 

When I was asked to illustrate the cover of the first Harry Potter book, I must say I had not realised there would be a sequel. It seemed to me the best thing to portray was the three friends. I wanted Harry’s face to have something a bit special. Not handsome, but somewhat dreamy.

Quite simply because I was already illustrating book covers for Gallimard. One day, the publisher sent me the first volume of Harry Potter and asked me if I would agree to draw the cover. I read the manuscript and was immediately hooked by the novel, so I accepted.

It was in the fall of 1998 that Gallimard Jeunesse published Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in France , the first volume of what would become one of the greatest literary successes in history. As in every country, the French publisher designed its own cover.

Yes, I was given a typewritten manuscript. I was told: “Read it and tell us if you can do a cover.” I didn’t even know there would be a sequel!

The chosen illustration constitutes the first visual contact between the famous wizard and his fans: the young boy, wearing a pointed hat and a long black robe, gives them a smile. He is surrounded by Ron and Hermione, his eternal sidekicks, while behind them the outlines of the castle housing Hogwarts, the school that provides their magic lessons.

“It was acrylic on paper,” recalls Jean-Claude Götting, the author of this drawing anchored in the imagination of an entire generation, for BFMTV.com. “I had made it on a relatively small format, on an A4 sheet.”

At the time, the cartoonist was approaching 35 years old and had been working in the world of comics and children’s illustration for about fifteen years. He was recognized by the prestigious Angoulême festival and had already worked several times with Gallimard.

So, when a manuscript called Harry Potter about an orphan with magical powers arrives in the publisher’s offices, it is without asking too many questions that the house turns again to the designer: “It was offered to me, I was asked if I was interested... and that’s it”, he jokes.

There was no competition, there was no particular issue. The book was published in paperback in the Folio Junior collection, like any other children’s book.

For Jean-Claude Götting, the singularity of the work “was immediately apparent”: “I had read quite a few children’s books, and this one was clearly on another level. An intelligent text, a strong plot... I felt right away that it was different.” So, the illustrator created this first illustration... without realizing that he had just signed for ten years:

“I didn’t even know it was supposed to be a series!” he says. “I took the first one as if it were a single title, I didn’t understand that it was a sequel.”

First of all, I must say that I did not know, when the first volume came out of the printers, that a sequel was planned. However, as the publications were published, my enthusiasm for each novel did not wane. Being able to walk with these characters who grow as each title is published is a real pleasure. And my drawing has therefore followed their evolution, their growth, and evolved with them. It remains in fact for me an exceptional adventure.