Jean Carzou (1907-2000) - Soleil Rouge

Jean Carzou (1907-2000) — Imaginary/fantastic fortress-like city under a blazing sun — Original color lithograph, 1972 — Artist's proof very limited to only XIII/XX (13/20)

Original color lithograph by Jean Carzou (Aleppo, 1907 – Marsac-sur-l’Isle, 2000), French painter, engraver, and designer of Armenian origin, member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts (Institute of France) since 1977.

Signed and dated “72” in pencil at the lower right by the artist.
Numbered “Artist’s proof on Japan” XIII/XX at the lower left (limited edition of 20 artist’s proofs).
Technique: original lithograph on pearly Japanese paper.
Framed under glass, with a marie-louise mount, and an antique gilded frame.
Excellent overall condition.

The work represents one of the most characteristic and sought-after subjects in Carzou’s production in the 1970s: an imaginary fortified city, bristling with a multitude of arrows and turrets, spreading out beneath a stylized sun with linear rays, in a flamboyant palette of red and orange typical of the artist.

Jean Carzou illustrated works by Ernest Hemingway, Albert Camus, and Eugène Ionesco, and created decorations and costumes for the Paris Opera and the Comédie-Française. His works are part of the collections of the National Museum of Modern Art (Centre Pompidou), the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, and many international museums (Hermitage, Adelaide, etc.). There is a museum entirely devoted to him in Manosque (Centre Carzou).