Kiraz is deceased. The cartoonist, known in particular for his illustrations of "Parisiennes" published in many magazines, died on Tuesday at the age of 96, his companion told AFP.
“Edmond Kiraz, born in Cairo on August 25, 1923, passed away serenely in the early morning of Tuesday, August 11, 2020, in his Parisian apartment in the 6th arrondissement of Paris that he loved so much”, confided Sabine Bastien, the companion of the 'illustrator who drew for thirty years for Marcel Dassault's weekly newspaper Jours de France .
Hired by Marcel Dassault to "draw pretty women"
Without artistic training, Kiraz (Edmond Kirazian) began his career as a political cartoonist and cartoonist in Egypt at the age of 17. “I have always drawn. I never did artistic studies, never! Besides, I find that it cuts everything! “, He explained in 2011 in an interview published by the ActuaBD site.
Raised in a Francophile family of Armenian origin, he moved to Paris at the age of 22, immediately falling under the spell of the “Parisiennes” whom he saw as “dragonflies”.
Slender silhouette, huge eyes, the “Parisiennes” sketched by Kiraz were sophisticated and terribly stereotypical, ingenuous and mindless, mainly concerned with shopping and fashion. In addition to Jours de France where he was hired directly by Marcel Dassault to "draw pretty women", the designer worked in particular for Playboy, Paris Match and Vogue .
Many of his drawings have been published in collections mainly by Denoël. Her album "Les Parisiennes se marient" (1994) was prefaced by Carla Bruni.
A tribute in 2008 to the Carnavalet museum
“The apparent lightness of his style was the result of hard work. Kiraz followed fashion by watching the young women he munched in the street and the world of fashion followed his publications. He was riveted to his drawing board, experimenting with harmonies of tones, always seeking delicacy in the young woman while he decked out his male subjects with awkward looks, ”said his companion.
Kiraz has also worked for several advertising agencies illustrating with his “Parisiennes” the campaigns of brands like Renault (for the Clio Chipie), Perrier, Canderel, Monoprix or even Nivéa. In 2008, the Carnavalet museum in Paris paid tribute to him on the occasion of an exhibition retracing his career.
“The Kiraz man was as exquisite as his designs. He only kept away from the world what delighted him. He knew where he came from, he knew that chaos, destruction, was the norm. So we had to enchant the world, ”said his partner.
Culture
Laurent Vicomte, the author of the comic strip "Sasmira", is dead
Culture
The designer André Chéret, co-creator of “Rahan”, is dead
- Designer
- Hurry
- Culture