Jean Carzou (1907-2000) - Soleil Rouge

Jean Carzou (1907-2000) — Imaginary/fantastic city under a blazing sun — Original 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 (Institut de France) from 1977.

Signed and dated “72” in pencil lower right by the artist.
Marked “Épreuve d’artiste sur Japon,” numbered XIII/XX lower left (print run limited to 20 artist’s proofs only).
Technique: original lithograph on pearlescent Japon paper.
Framed under glass, marie-louise, antique gilded frame.
Excellent overall condition.

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

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