Les Jumeaux by François Houtin

François Houtin
b.1950 | French

Les Jumeaux
(The Twins)

Signed and dated "Houtin 20" (lower left)
Indian ink wash on paper mounted on canvas

This utopian gardenscape was composed by the celebrated French artist François Houtin. Executed with an exquisite level of detail on an impressive scale, the work is a study in perspective and shadow as Houtin deftly captures twin ash trees in a crowded forest. The trees appear to come to life thanks to the artist's fantastical rendering of twisting branches that evoke gangly arms and tree hollows that call to mind gaping mouths. Both technically brilliant and surreal, Les Jumeaux is a truly exceptional example of his highly original compositions.

Born in 1950 in Craon, France, Houtin originally trained and worked as a landscape architect. It was a career that would greatly inform his artistic output after he entered the atelier of the engraver Jean Delpech in 1973. By 1979, he left behind his career to fully devote himself to his art, creating intricately detailed engravings of fantastical, utopian garden scenes. Enjoying significant success early on, he earned the Lacourière Engraving Prize in 1981 and the Florence Gould Prize in 1986. The first independent exhibition of his works was held at Fitch-Febvrel in New York in 1983. Beginning in 2002, he began to create large-scale drawings in Indian ink on paper, such as the present work. Today, his creations remain widely exhibited throughout Europe and North America.

Canvas: 51 1/8" high x 35" wide
Frame: 55" high x 38 7/8" wide