This exquisite lithograph by Jean Carzou (1907–2000), titled La Maison dans les arbres (The House in the Trees), from Regards Sur Paris (Views of Paris), originates from the January 22, 1963 issue published by Andre Sauret, Editeur, Paris, and printed by Mourlot Freres, Paris, 1963. This visionary composition reflects Carzou’s mastery of the lithographic medium, embodying his architectural precision and poetic imagination through intricate line, structured form, and a luminous sense of atmosphere.
Executed as a lithograph on grand velin d'Arches paper, this work measures 15.35 x 11.81 inches (38.99 x 30.00 cm). Unsigned and unnumbered as issued. The edition exemplifies the superb craftsmanship of the Mourlot Freres atelier, renowned for its collaborations with the greatest modern masters of the 20th century.
Artwork Details:
Artist: Jean Carzou (1907–2000)
Title: La Maison dans les arbres (The House in the Trees), from Regards Sur Paris (Views of Paris), January 22, 1963
Medium: Lithograph on grand velin d'Arches paper
Dimensions: 15.35 x 11.81 inches (38.99 x 30.00 cm)
Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered as issued
Date: 1963
Publisher: Andre Sauret, Editeur, Paris
Printer: Mourlot Freres, Paris
Condition: Well preserved, consistent with age and medium
Provenance: From Regards Sur Paris, published by Andre Sauret, Editeur, Paris, 1963
Notes:
Excerpted from the folio (translated from French), Completed printing on January 22, 1963, on the presses of the Imprimerie Nationale de France, Daniel Gibelin being director, Georges Arnoul, inspector of typography. This work was composed by hand in type known as “Romain du Roi,” size 24, engraved in 1699 by Grandjean under the order of Louis XIV. The original lithographs were printed by Mourlot Freres and the stones effaced after printing. Justification of the edition, CLXXX examples on grand Velin d'Arches, comprising as follows: X examples numbered at the press from I to X, including a suite on Japon nacre of the original lithographs signed by the artists and a suite on Arches. XX examples numbered at the press from XI to XXX, including a suite on Arches of the original lithographs. CXX examples numbered from XXXI to CL. XXX examples hors commerce marked H.C., reserved for the authors, artists, and craftsmen of the work. All colophons are signed by the ten authors and the ten artists.
About the Publication:
Regards Sur Paris (Views of Paris), published on January 22, 1963 by Andre Sauret in Paris and printed by Mourlot Freres, represents a significant achievement in the tradition of French illustrated folios, bringing together leading literary and artistic figures in a unified creative endeavor. Conceived as a collaborative project, the publication pairs texts by ten authors with original lithographs by ten artists, creating a rich dialogue between word and image that reflects the cultural vitality of mid-20th century Paris. Produced with exceptional craftsmanship, the typography was composed by hand at the Imprimerie Nationale de France using the historic “Romain du Roi” typeface, while the lithographs were executed under the expert supervision of Mourlot Freres, ensuring the highest standards of printmaking. The careful structuring of the edition, including impressions on grand velin d'Arches and special suites on Japon nacre, underscores the publication’s status as a refined collectors’ work. As a whole, Regards Sur Paris stands as a testament to the enduring importance of collaboration between writers, artists, printers, and publishers, embodying the intellectual and artistic spirit of modern France.
About the Artist:
Jean Carzou (1907–2000) was an Armenian-born French painter, printmaker, illustrator, and stage designer whose hauntingly poetic imagery, architectural precision, and metaphysical vision made him one of the great lyrical modernists of the 20th century. Born Karnik Zouloumian in Aleppo, Syria, and raised in Cairo, he moved to Paris in 1924 to study architecture at the Ecole Speciale d’Architecture, a discipline that profoundly shaped his lifelong fascination with geometry, structure, and the interplay of light and form. Carzou’s art, instantly recognizable for its delicate linear networks and shimmering tonal harmonies, depicted dreamlike cathedrals, ruined cities, and celestial figures suspended between reality and imagination meditations on civilization, memory, and transcendence. While contemporaries such as Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray explored abstraction and surrealism, Carzou forged a deeply personal path that fused classical rigor with spiritual depth, creating a visionary world of fragile beauty and luminous restraint. His color palette dominated by silvery blues, ochres, and sepias imbued his intricate compositions with an atmosphere of mystery and melancholic grace. Exhibiting throughout Europe and the Americas, he became internationally celebrated for his mastery of line and atmosphere, earning the Grand Prix de la Critique in 1950 and election to the Academie des Beaux-Arts in 1977. A prolific printmaker and illustrator, he produced acclaimed lithographs and etchings for works by Paul Valery, Andre Maurois, and Saint-John Perse, published by Maeght Editeur and printed at Atelier Mourlot. Carzou’s creative vision extended to stage design, where he created sets and costumes for the Paris Opera and Comedie-Francaise in productions such as Faust, Les Indes Galantes, and Les Troyens, blending his architectural imagination with theatrical poetry. In 1991, the Carzou Foundation was established in Manosque, France, featuring his monumental mural cycle L’Apocalypse, one of the most ambitious spiritual and artistic undertakings in modern French art. His works are held in major museum collections including the Musee d’Art Moderne de Paris, Centre Pompidou, the Vatican Museums, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and his influence extends to later visionaries such as Zao Wou-Ki, Jean-Michel Folon, and Anselm Kiefer, who admired his union of structure, mysticism, and lyricism. Standing among 20th-century giants Picasso, Calder, Giacometti, Dali, Miro, Kandinsky, Duchamp, and Man Ray, Jean Carzou endures as a master of poetic modernism, whose art transforms ruin into renewal and light into eternity. The highest auction record for Jean Carzou was achieved by Le Ciel et la Mer (The Sky and the Sea), which sold for 120000 USD at Sotheby’s, Paris, on December 3, 2020, affirming his lasting legacy as one of the most visionary and collectible artists of his time.
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