Jean CARZOU (1907-2000)

Untitled (Guerres et Conquêtes series), 1964. Green ink ballpoint pen on paper. Signed, dated and dedicated. 32 x 24.5 cm. Framed under glass. An original, beautifully-formatted drawing with cachet: as much for its design, featuring the artist's beloved themes in fantastically intertwined ballpoint pen strokes, as for its mention and dedication. The one at the top of the page recalls a moment of shared happiness: "En souvenir d'une heureuse rencontre chez l'ami Cayatte. Clearly, Carzou frequented this French writer and director. The one at the bottom of the page, "Pour Jean Larteguy et sa charmante femme, en toute amitié", is addressed to the eminent journalist and writer, winner of the Albert Londres Prize in 1955, who covered many theaters of conflict, including the Algerian War. With this dedication, Carzou underlines the coherence between the themes of his drawings and Jean Larteguy's preoccupations. These "fulgurances" drawn in green ink are rather rare on the art market: let's cite the sale of November 10, 2017, at Drouot-Paris, chez Ader, lot no. 298, Arbres, 1959, green ballpoint pen, 17.5 x 14 cm, signed, dated and dedicated lower right. Our drawing, dated 1964, is, by virtue of its generous dimensions, a very fine link in the series illustrated by Carzou on "Wars and Conquests", a series that would give rise, five years later, to the edition of original lithographs by Fernand Mourlot in Paris.