Français
Jean-Charles Decoudun
//// Description of the Work ////
Original watercolor.
Dimensions: 26 × 26 cm.
Signed.
In this intimate watercolor entitled Jardin du Luxembourg, Jean-Charles Decoudun offers a gently vibrant interpretation of an emblematic corner of the Parisian garden: the central basin where small sailboats drift. With its tight framing and absence of monumental architectural elements, the artist chooses to focus on the simple, harmonious rhythm of a leisurely moment.
The multicolored boats glide over the shimmering water, while in the background appear the flowerbeds, statues, or balustrades that define the identity of the place. The forms are delicately sketched, the colors fresh and luminous: soft greens, tranquil blues, and touches of pink and gold illuminate the basin like a living tapestry.
The viewer is invited to sense the murmur of conversations, the discreet melody of water, and the diffuse presence of unseen strollers. Decoudun thus transforms the city into a village, making the pictorial gesture not only a visual testimony but also an intimate breathing space. The site becomes a place of affective memory, a shared space where the city’s identity is built from the detail and gentleness of ordinary moments.
///// Biography /////
Origins and path
Jean-Charles Decoudun was born in Paris in 1962. The grandson of illustrator Jean-Paul Decoudun, he refused to follow any formal academic curriculum in visual arts, choosing instead the path of self-taught creation. His first exhibition took place in 1994 at the Atelier Frossard, in the Batignolles district of Paris. In 1997, he joined Galerie Roussard in Montmartre, beginning a long-term and stable collaboration.
A dialectical vision of Paris
Paris is his muse. He sees the capital not as a monumental whole, but as a mosaic of small villages. Each watercolor deconstructs the city into neighborhood scenes, infusing Parisian landscapes with the intimacy of village life. Without denying the reality of noise, subways, or traffic, he paints the city in its joyful, colorful dimension: its inhabitants, clad in bright attire, are the painter’s true signature. As he himself says, “places and people are one, it is the ensemble that creates the landscape.”
Style and technique
His style combines precise pencil sketches with the subtle application of watercolor. He excels in the balance of shadows and transparencies, achieving a perfect equilibrium between the delicacy of the medium and the richness of color. This art of detail pays homage to intimacy and to the collective memory embedded in places.
