Carzou, Jean Marie (1907-2000), Title etching to Arthur Rimbaud's Illuminations, 1969

Jean Marie Carzou(1907 Aleppo - 2000 Périgueux), Title etching to Arthur Rimbaud's Illuminations, 1969. Etching on wove paper, 31.5 cm x 24 cm (image), 38.5 cm x 28 cm (sheet size), blind-stamped signature lower right.

- the left corner with crease, small stain on the left and right margin, otherwise in good condition

- Rimbaud's Eye -

Arthur Rimbaud's "Les Illuminations" were first published in book form by Paul Verlaine in 1886. "The word 'Illuminations,'" Verlaine writes, "is English and means something like 'graphics.' This is the subtitle Mr. Rimbaud gave to his manuscript. With his title etching, Jean Marie Carzou creates a graphic "illumination" congenial to Rimbaud's written "illuminations. In energetic strokes, Carzou brings to life the Paris of the Belle Époque from the perspective of Rimbaud's texts.

About the artist

The Artist After graduating from the French Lycée in Cairo, the son of Armenian parents went to Paris to study at the École Spéciale d'Architecture from 1924 to 1928. He then followed his artistic talent and enrolled at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. He changed his name from Gaṙnik Harutyuni Zulumyan to Jean Marie Carzou and exhibited for the first time at the Salon des Indépendants in 1930. He had his first solo exhibition in 1939.

In addition to his work as a freelance painter, Carzou illustrated works of modern literature by Arthur Rimbaud, Ernest Hemingway, T. S. Eliot, Albert Camus, and Eugéne Ionesco, among others. He also designed sets and costumes for the Paris Opera and the Comédie-Française. Since 1977, Carzou has been a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts.