Jean Criton (1930-2022) Catacamera, Vue depuis l'avenue menant à la gare maritime 1997 Charcoal and gouache highlights on paper signed, dated and titled lower right, titled lower 40 x 30 cm Condition report: Framed In 1982, Jean Criton designed 6 lithographs to illustrate Alain Jouffroy's Catacamera ([CRITON (Jean)] & JOUFFROY (Alain). Narkopolis-Catacamera. Paris, ed. Pierre Bordas & fils, 1982). In 1997, he resumed this project, which had fascinated him: the 4 charcoals we present illustrate the period that began in Jean Criton's work in the 1970s, when the human disappeared from the compositions, giving way to the theme of the utopian city. These imaginary architectural views give rise to monumental, geometrically structured charcoal constructions. Thanks to this charcoal black, the façades sometimes appear bathed in light, sometimes hidden in shadow. And so, faced with these visions of fanciful cities, our eyes enjoy wandering down these alleyways, losing themselves in these convoluted perspectives, and lending themselves to the game of imagining the world of tomorrow.