Surrealism

Jean Carzou, 1907-2000
Internationally renowned artist Jean Carzou, whose works graced the novels of literary giants like Ernest Hemmingway, adorned Paris opera houses and captured the passion of saints on chapel walls, died August 12, 2000 in Perigeaux, France. Carzou, who was a member of France's Academie des Beaux-arts and decorated with the National Order of Merit was 97 years old.

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, 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, and resorted to working as a street artist, doing caricatures and portraits to support him ...

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