| Born Karnik Zouloumian on January 1st, 1907 in Syria to an Armenian family, Carzou later created his name from the first syllables of his name and surname. Becoming a world traveler at an early age, Jean Carzou was educated in Cairo Egypt before moving to Paris in 1924 at the age of 17 to study art and architecture in earnest.
Despite changing his name to the more Parisian moniker "Jean Carzou", the artist remained close ties to his Armenian heritage, and was ever mindful of his people's all-to-frequent political struggles and sufferings. Politics ultimately became one of the young artist's first means of support, when he abandoned the pursuit of architecture for the fine arts. Carzou was a member of France's Academie des Beaux-arts and was decorated with the National Order of Merit. Carzou died in Marsac-sur- lIsle, Dordogne region on August 12th, 2000 at 93.
Born in Alep, Syria, Carzou arrived in Paris in 1924 to complete his studies in architecture. Frequenting the Montparnasse area, he decided to devote his time to drawing and painting and worked as a theatre decorator.
Considered as one of the best painters working in France, Carzou produced Surrealist compositions under the influence of Cubism during the 1930s and illustrated many books. He took part in numerous exhibitions in France and abroad, notably in the Venice and Sao Paulo Biennials and painted a 600 square metre surface in the church of the convent of the Presentation in Manosque, which was inaugurated in 1990.
Strangely enough, Carzou, who became a member of the French Academy of Fine Arts in 1982, considered Cézanne and Picasso as responsible for the degradation of modern art. |
