Paris: sketching solidarity

On the heels of the terror attacks in Paris, a number of artists have been taking pen in hand to express their view of the events. One frequently represented motif is the Eiffel Tower as a symbol of peace. By Sabine Oelze

  • #PeaceForParis: the Eiffel Tower as a peace sign. The drawing by Jean Julien is probably getting the heaviest circulation on social media, turning up not only on the Internet but all over the world. People are putting it on T-shirts, their bodies and houses
  • Long live "savoir-vivre": Johann Sfar, one of Paris's best-known comics artists, reacted immediately to the attacks. In his Instagram account (https.://instagram.com/joannsfar/), he spread this message: #Parisisaboutlife
  • Paris, don't let them get you down!... writes caricaturist #Baudry from Paris, transforming the French capital into a single pool of blood divided into halves by the River Seine. Yet the image is also an expression of defiance. He dubbed it "Paris Rage"
  • Blood-drenched flag: this drawing by caricature artist Carlos Latuff also spread quickly under the hashtag #JeSuisParis. The red, white and blue French flag morphs into a shroud with the blood of victims issuing forth
  • Eiffel Tower in a stranglehold: Paris' best known landmark, the Eiffel Tower, turns up in a drawing by @MarianKamensky as well. It references "Aladdin and His Magic Lamp," the fairy tale. But this time, "IS" lets the genie out of the bottle, and the evil spirit has the tower in its deathly grip
  • Symbols of mourning: a message from artist Chaunu showing the country united in sadness and the moon shining dramatically in the background. The woman is wearing a red Jacobin Cap - a symbol of uprising during the French Revolution
  • This cannot be the end of freedom: @Elinoux drew Marianne, a figure of national importance during the French Republic who was immortalised as the combative leader in Eugene Delacroix' painting "La Liberte guidant le peuple" (Liberty Leading the People). Showing Marianne in tears, Elina brings the nation's past struggles to mind
  • Grieving by drawing: @BryanSaintpaul posted this drawing on various social networks and under different hashtags. It seems to show how confusing events have been. In the centre, the Eiffel Tower is rocked by a detonation
  • Worldwide solidarity: using the hashtag #Marseilleendeuil, the southern French city of Marseilles expresses its own grief - a city also strongly populated by people from Arab countries. @Pierromensa drew "La Bonne Mere Pense a Paris" (The Grandmother Thinks of Paris)