Jean CARZOU (1907-2000) - Lot 121

Jean CARZOU (1907-2000) Untitled Lithograph in color, signed in pencil lower right, numbered 6/180 lower left, dedicated lower left. H_ 35 cm W_ 55 cm Jean Carzou (1907-2000), whose real name was Karnik Zouloumian, was a Franco-Armenian painter and engraver born in Aleppo and who died in Paris. Initially trained as an architect in Cairo, he moved to Paris in 1924 and studied drawing at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. His work, figurative and close to a poetic surrealism, is characterized by imaginary, deserted cities, composed of very fine, precise lines, reminiscent of his past as an architect. The recurring themes of his work are solitude, silence, anguish and the threat of destruction, often interpreted as a reflection on war and the fragility of the modern world. He mainly uses painting, drawing and engraving, and also creates literary illustrations for authors such as Kafka and Camus, as well as sets for theater and opera. His sober style, with muted colors, creates a melancholy, dreamlike atmosphere. Internationally acclaimed, Jean Carzou was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1977, and remains famous for his visionary, poetic urban landscapes.