Press cartoonist Kiraz, known in particular for his illustrations of Parisians published in numerous magazines, died Tuesday August 11 in Paris at the age of 96, announced his companion, Sabine Bastien, to Agence France-Presse.
Edmond Kirazian said Kiraz was born in Cairo on August 25, 1923. Without artistic training, he 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 site ActuaBD.
Sophisticated, ingenuous and foolish
Raised in a Francophile family of Armenian origin, he moved to Paris at the age of 22, immediately falling under the spell of Parisiennes, whom he saw as “Dragonflies”. Slender silhouette, huge eyes, Parisians Kiraz sketched were sophisticated and terribly stereotypical, ingenuous and brainless, primarily preoccupied with shopping and fashion. “The apparent lightness of his style was the result of hard work. Kiraz followed fashion by looking at the young women he munched in the street ”, commented his companion.
Outraged Days of 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. His album Parisiennes get married (1994) was prefaced by Carla Bruni. Kiraz has also worked for several advertising agencies, illustrating with his Parisians campaigns of brands such as 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.
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