Le Péché Mortel – Dieu n’aime pas le péché

This unique large-format drawing by Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, measuring approximately 30 x 30 cm, is an exceptional and rare example of the artist’s work in a scale far larger than his more commonly known postcard-sized pieces. Executed in Bouabré’s unmistakable style—characterized by naïve figuration, a carefully structured layout, and the integration of handwritten text within a framed composition—the work combines image and moral statement into a single didactic panel. The drawing, titled « Dieu n’aime pas le péché » and subtitled Le Péché Mortel – Homme Blanc = Femme, presents a symbolic and moralizing scene rendered in ballpoint pen and colored pencil on found cardboard. As in many of Bouabré’s works, the image functions as a visual lesson, where the human figure is depicted in a stylized and expressive manner to communicate a philosophical or ethical message rather than a realistic scene.

Because of its unusually large dimensions and the clarity of its message, this work can be understood as part of what could be titled Les Tableaux Moraux (The Moral Panels), a term that reflects Bouabré’s lifelong project of educating, documenting, and transmitting universal knowledge through image and text. Unlike his smaller works, which often function like pages of an encyclopedic archive, this larger piece has the presence of a didactic tableau—almost like a teaching panel—intended to communicate a clear moral idea about sin, human behavior, and spiritual law. The work demonstrates Bouabré’s unique position between artist, philosopher, and educator, and stands as a rare and powerful example of his ability to transform simple materials and direct imagery into a universal moral statement.

​

Le Péché Mortel, 1 original drawing on cardboard, 30 x 30 cm, hand signed by Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, 1986