Michel Delacroix " Carrousel " Original Lithograph Signed and numbered

BIO: Michel Delacroix (1933- ) French painter Michel Delacroix was born in Paris, France, a place that is truly the epicenter of his artistic inspiration. After studying at the Ecole de Beaux Arts and the Lycee Louis-le-Grand, Delacroix took a hiatus from his formal education to work with the famous French actor Marcel Marceau and experiment with set design while exploring his native city. “I walked endlessly from district to district, inspecting every corner and absorbing all the nuances accumulating an endless store of impressions to draw upon for my paintings.” An acclaimed master of the Naïf tradition, Delacroix has devoted over five decades to recreating what he calls, “the poetic past…the Paris of then.” His work encapsulates the timelessness of an old Paris—with horse drawn carriages, gas-lit lamps, hot air balloons, and bustling streets. It is a dream-like place that interweaves the vibrancy, romance and nostalgia of La Belle Epoch with his own memories of the quiet, darker Paris where he grew up in the 1940’s during the German occupation. Delacroix permeates each piece with intricacies and history as he evokes the ideals of past eras. Delacroix’s work has captivated private collectors, museums and art lovers around the world, earning him both international acclaim and numerous awards. He has been featured in over 275 solo exhibitions in the United States alone—from New York City, Boston, and Washington D.C., to Los Angeles, Carmel, Denver, Seattle, and San Francisco. Abroad, his work has been exhibited in France, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, England, Japan, and forms part of the permanent collections of the Musee International d’Art Naïf and the Foundation Max Fourny in Paris, as well as countless private collections worldwide. Lublin Graphics, Inc. has had the distinction of publishing Delacroix’s work in lithography for over twenty-five years. The history of the carrousel in France goes back centuries, which perhaps explains why there are so many of them scattered throughout Paris. One of the most famous stories of French carrousels is from 1662, when Louis XVI held a carrousel festival in front of the Tuileries Gardens to honor the birth of the Dauphin. In true Sun King fashion, it was a spectacular event, where over 15,000 guests watched knights astride their horses participating in jeu de bagues competitions. Today, this grandiose fête is memorialized in the location where it was held: La Place du Carrousel. In Delacroix’s depiction of one of Paris’s famed carrousels, he brings to the life the whimsy and joy of the children eager to mount their wooden horses and spin around for hours. Moreover, he reminds us the intricacies and artistry of these old carrousels—they are no longer useless rides that empty my pockets of loose change, but beautiful pieces of art making their eternal rounds as we look on and smile.