Monte-Carlo Inspiration Autumn/Automne 2025

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“This creation is the culmination of an entire team’s efforts.” « Cette création est le résultat du travail de toute une équipe. » Jean-Benoît Héron, illustrateur

Leisure Loisirs

© Orphic

Everything pointed to him becoming an illustrator, except for his engineering degree. Passion eventually overtook his focus on the agri-food industry, where he worked for ten years. Following in his parents’ footsteps, Jean-Benoît Héron pursued illustration—a profession he was exposed to early on when his mother designed silk squares for Hermès. This early influence provided him with invaluable insight. Over the past twenty-eight years, he has studied plans, photographs, and the life of the Resort to understand the curves and lines of its buildings and to appreciate the aesthetic of Monte-Carlo.

Was this Monopoly a major project? There was the original illustration, but also upstream, an adaptation of the game rules and design. It took several months of collaboration and effort to achieve this. This game is the culmination of an entire team’s efforts. How did your journey with Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer start? I lived in the Nice hinterland and began my professional illustration career with Gallimard guides and an Italian tourism magazine, for which I illustrated European monuments designated as World Heritage sites. While shopping in Ventimiglia, I saw the Monte-Carlo Casino from the road that overlooks the Principality. Thanks to a brother-in-law working in Monaco, I was introduced to the Monte Carlo Société des Bains de Mer. Your work might imply that you have an architectural background or that you studied through the Beaux-Arts. However, you are self-taught. I never attended formal drawing school. Although my grandfather was an architect, I’m not sure if that connection influences my work. My parents, both illustrators, had an extensive collection of books. As a child, I loved reading books on 19th-century architectural drawings. Later, I realised that some aspects of those drawings appear in my work. Memories of my childhood observations often surface in my art. At age 10, I visited the Musée des Plans-Reliefs and the Musée de la Marine in Paris, which was very inspiring. Life is often shaped by such small, meaningful experiences that resonate deeply and eventually influence your path. What was your first drawing for Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer? In 1997, I worked on an exploded view of the casino, with the ceilings lifted to reveal the structure (See illustration opposite) . These types of views enable you to see both the interior and exterior of a building on a single diagram. Although incredibly intricate, I enjoy creating this kind of drawing. It requires thorough documentation, detailed plans, and on-site reconnaissance to grasp the volumes and circulation flows. How much time is needed to produce such a drawing? Back then, I created the perspectives manually, as computer tools were nearly unavailable. It took ten days of pencilling and a week of full-time colouring. Starting after the Monte-Carlo Casino, I drew the Café de Paris, then continued with other buildings. Eventually, I completed the Resort plan and the Principality’s layout and even produced botanical plates of the plants in the Casino gardens to showcase the Group’s botanical heritage.

This exploded view marked the beginning of Jean-Benoît Héron’s collaboration with the resort. Cette vue en éclaté marque le début de la collaboration de Jean-Benoît Héron pour le Resort.

Is immersing yourself in the place important to you? The drawing improves significantly when you draw after visiting the places. It gains a soul, a certain je-ne-sais-quoi that genuinely makes a difference, especially with the light that can’t be fabricated.