Nineteenth Date - Les Parisiennes de Kiraz

Prickly, smart and sensual, they made the reputation of the draftsman Kiraz and came to the front of the scene. This time, the famous « Parisiennes » have a rendez-vous (from May 14 to September 21) in the Musée Carnavalet for the very first retrospective of this artist.

Born in the 50's and featuring pencil and glares of colors, the creatures of Kiraz became legend at the dawn of the 60's. « Les Parisiennes » have graced the pages of Marie-Claire, Gala, Paris-Match and Elle.

In the 90's, a page was turned and « les Parisiennes » gave up their sense of humor. For Vogue and Glamour, « les Parisiennes » became icons of femininity and illustrated certain articles by giving true fashion lessons. Abroad, the more stripped version of « les Parisiennes », created by Kiraz for Hugh Hefner, have appeared in Playboy US every month since their inception in 1970.

Paris : Source of inspiration

From the window of his workshop on Boulevard Raspail, Kiraz's eyes settle on the coffee terraces, where he observes the women and the city. The Paris of Kiraz isn't that of the tourist tours but that of his heroines who survey the sidewalks and the shops, settle into the coffee terraces, and involve themselves, always gracious, in the risks of the town life. Paris for Kiraz is the inexhaustible source which feeds his creation, very impressed by the spirit of the capital.

« My source of inspiration is the street and it's inexhaustible. Two girls who chatter on a coffee terrace, it's splendid ! » - Kiraz

« La Parisienne » : Fashion Icon

Masters of the haute couture and pioneers of the ready-to-wear, the styles find a fresh spirit in the boards of Kiraz. His scenes reveal the « fashion » detail or endow his « Parisienne » with an essential female element : a bikini on the beach, a stole blowing in the wind generated by the speed of a beautiful car, very « couture » in a great restaurant, light behaviour and embroideries in the haussmannien apartments, evening dress to the Opera, « streetwear » in the Jardin du Luxembourg…


« I was really in love with these drawings because not only was the style of the drawings themselves amazing but also he encapsulated, week after week, the essential being of fashion in the way a designer would… » - Christian Lacroix

« Les Parisiennes » : In painting

The compositions of Kiraz, animated and fluid of line, juxtapose vibrating colors with a certain delicacy, which play off of one another to produce harmonies which contain the essential being of Paris, her rhythms and her movement.
Ever-curious to push the boundaries of his chosen media, Kiraz also explores the possibilities of watercolor and gouache on fabric. The drawings, illustrations and paintings exposed in the galleries reveal the progress and experimental nature of the artist, whose work finds his expression the best in the painting of rest.
Freed from a narrative context, the beautiful ones became works of a piece. A stylized swimming pool where a moving foot is followed by legs with gracious lines which draw the eye into a beautiful energy, dancers expressed in the manner of a modern Degas, the naked ones with the improbable curves… The format, the substance, the composition, the colors are new challenges to which the artist must rise. He seeks still, and enjoys the search, for a forthcoming painting which will be even better than the last…