Jean Carzou

The New York Times, August 24, 2000

Jean Carzou -- Painter and Illustrator, 93

Jean Carzou, a painter who illustrated the novels of Ernest Hemingway and Albert Camus and helped decorate an ocean liner, died on Aug. 12. He was 93.

Mr. Carzou was known for his figurative style and the diversity of his subjects. Besides illustrating the work of many well-known writers, including Eugene Ionesco and Arthur Rimbaud, he produced painted porcelain and engravings as well as stage designs for the Comedie Francaise and the top ballet and opera houses in Paris. He helped paint the cruise ship France and at the age of 81 finished painting the walls of a chapel in the town of Manosque in Provence.

Mr. Carzou held his first exhibit in 1939. His works have been exhibited in museums around the world. Elected to the Academie des Beaux-Arts in 1977, he was also awarded France's National Order of Merit.

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Jean Carzou (1907, Aleppo, Syria – August 12, 2000 Marsac-sur-l'Isle, Dordogne, France), born Karnik Zouloumian, was a French Armenian artist, painter and illustrator.

He started working as a theater decorator but he then quickly realized he preferred drawing and painting. In 1938, more than a hundred exhibitions of his works were organized in Paris, in the French provinces and abroad. In 1949, he received the coveted Hallmark prize.

A Carzou museum exists in the town of Dinard (Brittany). In 1952, he created costumes and sceneries for "Les Indes Galantes" of Rameau at the Opéra de Paris . He continued with "Le Loup" (1953) for "Les Ballets" of Roland Petit, Giselle (1954) and Athalie (1955) at the Opéra and "La Comédie française".

He was elected to the Académie des beaux-arts (French Academy of Fine Arts) in 1977, he was also awarded the National Order of Merit of France.