Arnauld Michelizza, b. 1972, currently lives and works in Paris, France.

I am a french figurative painter and a self-taught artist that place great emphasis on figuration, and faces are my favorite subject. Even though my paintings are intended to be realistic, above all, I try to use realism and technique to serve poetry and emotion.

My work is twofold. On the one hand, my paintings reflect my fascination with the beauty of the body. Depending on the subject, I don’t hesitate to vary my techniques to best convey a particular emotion. Thus, for some paintings, I use ancient techniques, typically starting with grisaille and applying glazes, while for others, the execution is alla prima. In this latter type of execution, the brushstrokes are freer, the masses of light and shadows are conceived as abstract forms, and the body becomes almost a pretext for painting light.

My latest, more engaged works, are the result of encounters and aim to illustrate the suffering of Palestinian children. However, I try to bring a universality to these works that goes beyond this subject to speak more generally about childhood.