
Description
Jean-Louis ARBARETAZ (1942-1995)
Painter and engraver from Montluçon. Prix de Rome for engraving in 1966 with “the key to dreams”.
He was born in Montluçon on March 1 , 1942. The Arbaretaz family lived in rue Desaix and quai Rouget – de – Lisle in the same town. His father worked at the Dunlop factory.
In 1952, he entered the Collège des Conches in Montluçon where his talents as a draftsman were spotted by his French and drawing teacher, Mr Valignat, himself a well-known painter.
In 1957, he continued his studies at the School of Fine Arts in Clermont-Ferrand. "He was an excessive and warm character", remembers Henri Mazet. “A seducer who was greatly inspired by women, passionate, committed and full of humour,” recalls Jean-Pierre Lhospitalier. Philippe Orliaguet evokes “an artist inhabited by a certain mysticism, in a metaphysical search”. Jacques Pinon testifies to an encounter that meant a lot in his life: that of the marginal, rebellious and mystical-eccentric writer, François Augieras, during a joint exhibition in Sarlat in 1967.
In 1963, he joined the Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris and trained in engraving, chisel and etching in the Bersier and Lucien-Coutaud workshops.
In 1970, he married Josette Phelouzat with whom he had a daughter, Marie. They settled in Les Naudins in Cérilly, on the edge of the Tronçais forest. Artist “withdrawn from the world and cultivating his image of cursed painter”. Didn't he say of himself "I am a somnambulist who advances". Jean-Louis had favorite themes, women, birds, very present throughout this retrospective.
Protean creator, atypical artist, he died on the night of May 26 to 27, 1995, following lung problems.
Reserve: $70.00
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Condition
Used
Buyer's Premium
20%
JEAN-LOUIS ARBARETAZ Mystical Flower Above a House S/N Etching Edition of 50
Estimate $80-$100
Starting Price
$35
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Prints and Fine Art
Mar 19, 2026 11:00 AM EDTNew York, NY, United States
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