Jules Michel (born 10 April 1931) is a French artist. As a child of eight, while exploring the family attic, Jules Michel discovered an old oil-paint box. With it, he quickly improvised his first paintings. He was an audacious and reckless youth, filled with enthusiasm and a healthy team spirit. He became the top champion speed

roller skater Roller skating is the act of traveling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on streets, sid ...

in Paris at the age of fourteen. But he was also greatly impressed by the delicacy and extraordinarily precise work of his uncle, engraver Raymond Courcaut. As a result, Michel became a student of advertising, while starting to compete in cycling races and continuing to paint in secret. He received guidance from

Georges Rouault Georges Henri Rouault (; 27 May 1871, Paris – 13 February 1958) was a French painter, draughtsman and print artist, whose work is often associated with Fauvism and Expressionism. Childhood and education Rouault was born in Paris into a po ...

and

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is ...

but developed his own unique style.Review, Rob Mowbray, 1980. It was just after World War II, during the

Saint-Germain-des-Prés Saint-Germain-des-Prés () is one of the four administrative quarters of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Its official borders are the River Seine on the nort ...

period, that Michel met thinkers as

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...

and

Boris Vian Boris Vian (; 10 March 1920 – 23 June 1959) was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer who is primarily remembered for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sulliva ...

against a backdrop of music by the still unknown

Juliette Gréco Juliette Gréco (; 7 February 1927 – 23 September 2020) was a French singer and actress. Her best known songs are "Paris Canaille" (1962, originally sung by Léo Ferré), "La Javanaise" (1963, written by Serge Gainsbourg for Gréco) and "Désh ...

, and

Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic tempe ...

and

Claude Luter Claude Luter (23 July 1923 – 6 October 2006) was a jazz clarinetist who doubled on soprano saxophone. Luter was born and died in Paris. He began on trumpet, but switched to clarinet. He might be best known for being an accompanist to Sidne ...

on their way to fame as jazzmen. Embracing a career in advertising, Michel moved up the agency ladder quickly and steadily, but never forgot his first love. In 1945 he learnt

photogravure Photogravure (in French ''héliogravure'') is a process for printing photographs, also sometimes used for reproductive intaglio printmaking. It is a photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is grained (adding a pattern to the plate) and ...

, lithography,

silkscreen printing Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mes ...

and

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

Michel continued painting and sculpting but was too individualistic and too full of energy to follow a long academic course. Instead, he roamed

the Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, learned from his artist friends and periodically attended a variety of art schools including, from 1948 to 1951, Ecole des Arts Appliqués et des Arts Décoratifs, Les Beaux Arts and La Grande Chaumière, where he was temporarily interested in

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

. In 1951 he performed his military service. In 1973 he established his first studio in Paris. Between 1974 and 1980 he lived in Australia, then moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

, Quebec, Canada.

Collections

Art collectors who have works by Jules Michel include *Queen

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

Mercedes Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquarter ...

, Sydney *

Banque Nationale de Paris BNP Paribas is a French international banking group, founded in 2000 from the merger between Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP, "National Bank of Paris") and Paribas, formerly known as the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. The full name of the grou ...

, Sydney, Australia *Art Museum,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, Australia *Musée Laurier, Victoriaville, Canada *Government of Taiwan,

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

, Taiwan *Robert L. Grant, Sydney, Australia

Exhibitions and awards

*First One Man Show, Galerie Raymond Duncan, Paris 1952–1971 *Group Exhibition, Salon des Artistes Indépendants and Salon d'Automne, Paris 1956 *Winner of the Advertising Trophy for the campaign of the year for "

Woolmark Woolmark is a wool industry certification mark used on pure wool products that meet quality standards set by The Woolmark Company. It is a trade mark owned by The Woolmark Company, which has since 2007 been a subsidiary of Australian Wool Innovatio ...

" 1968 *Retrospective exhibition, Paris 1971 *Some 30 one man shows across Australia 1979 *Exhibition at Galerie Michele Boussard, Paris 1980 *"Hommage to Jacques Brel", Galerie Le Méridien, Montreal 1981 *Jubilee and Retrospective, Liebert Art Gallery, Sydney 1982 *"Paix Madame", Galerie Hélène Boullé, Montreal 1984 *"Forum", Galerie de L'Isle, Montreal 1986 *Salon International des Arts, Montreal 1987 *"Retrospective exhibition" Musée Laurier, Arthabaska, Canada 1987 * Exhibition at Patricia Judith Art Gallery,

Boca Raton Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

, Florida, United States 1988 *Salon d'Automne, Montreal 1989 *Exhibition at Patricia Judith Art Gallery, Boca Raton, Florida 1990 *"Hommage to

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inclu ...

", Galerie Sherbrooke, Montreal 1991 *Tokyo International Art Salon (TIAS), Japan 1992 *Consortium des Arts, Hôtel Byblos,

Saint-Tropez , INSEE = 83119 , postal code = 83990 , image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Saint-Tropez-A (Var).svg , image flag=Flag of Saint-Tropez.svg Saint-Tropez (; oc, Sant Tropetz, ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-A ...

, France 1992 * Wentworth Art Gallery, Miami, Florida 1993 * Wentworth Art Gallery, Boca Raton, and

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoast ...

1994 *Musée du Mas Carbasse, Saint-Estève,

Pyrénées Orientales The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

, France 1996 *Château Valmy,

Argelès-sur-Mer Argelès-sur-Mer (, literally ''Argelès on Sea''; ca, Argelers de la Marenda or ; oc, Argelers de Mar), commonly known as Argelès, is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in the administrative region of Occitania, France. It i ...

, Pyrénées Orientales 1997 *Salon des Arts, Sofitel,

La Défense La Défense () is a major business district in France, located west of the city limits of Paris. It is part of the Paris metropolitan area in the Île-de-France region, located in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in the communes of Courbevoie, ...

, Paris 1998 * L'Olivier, Saint-Estève, Pyrénées Orientales *Galerie Maurice-Gabriel François,

Levallois-Perret Levallois-Perret () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies some from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of the French capital. It is the most densely populated to ...

, Groupe CIC, Levallois-Perret, France 1999 *Ariotel,

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

, Pyrénées Orientales 1998–2000 *Le Voilier des Saveurs, Perpignan, Pyrénées Orientales 1998–2000 * Research and preparation for the exhibition "Mille ans d'en France" 206 art pieces 2000 *"Mille ans d'en France" Saint-Mamet, Saint-Estève, Pyrénées Orientales *Congress of Mayors of Pyrénées Orientales, Prades, Pyrénées Orientales *Congress of Mayors of France, Paris 2002 *Galerie Castelginest,

Aude Aude (; ) is a department in Southern France, located in the Occitanie region and named after the river Aude. The departmental council also calls it " Cathar Country" ( French: ''Pays cathare'') after a group of religious dissidents active i ...

, France 2003 *Académie Artistique du Pays Catalan, Baixas, Pyrénées Orientales 2003 *Tribute to Charlie Chaplin's, "The Kid", in the presence of Michael Chaplin, Palais des Congrès, Perpignan, Pyrénées Orientales 2003 *Galerie Martin Vivès, Chateau Les Pins, Baixas, Pyrénées Orientales 2005 *CCAS,

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Me ...

, Aude 2005 *Galerie Phare Sud, Gruissan, Aude 2005 *Espace Gibert, Lézignan-Corbières, Aude 2005 *

Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English as SocGen (), is a French-based multinational financial services company founded in 1864, registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby in La Défense. Société Générale ...

, Palais de la Scala,

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is l ...

, Monaco 2006 *Une promenade en Espagne, Centro Español Perpignan 2006 *Centro Español, Perpignan 2007 *Galerie Eric Chesnais,

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is firs ...

, France 2007 *Phare Sud, Gruissan 2007

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michel, Jules 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters 21st-century French painters 21st-century French male artists Living people 1931 births